Another Word for Strength
by King Oz
Summary: When Voltaire blackmails Kai into blading for the Russians, he discovers that the Bladebreakers are willing to put their lives on the line to help him... espescially Rei KaiReiCOMPLETE
1. Disobedience

This is my first Kai/Rei story. I'm only posting the first chap because I'm currently typing up the fifth chapter (I learned from a thing called Writer's Block) and I really need some opinions.  
  
Another Word for Strength Chapter 1: Disobedience  
  
"No Kai. I don't think you'll be blading for your old team. You'll continue your service to the Russian Demolition Boys."  
  
"What?! No way. I'm fed up being your puppet. I'm not going to take anymore of your orders!" Kai screamed at the satellite image.  
  
"You won't deny my orders, Kai. Unless you want something to happen to your Bladebreakers. I know that would be terribly unfortunate."  
  
"How dare you threaten my team!" Kai spat at the older man's face. "You have no authority here!"  
  
"You'd be surprised. Now, you'll do as you're directed without complaint or else you'll see just how much authority I really have over there. I have eyes and ears everywhere."  
  
"I won't go back to the abbey." Kai said, feeling his defences beginning to break.  
  
"Yes you will. I know how much you'd put on the line for your teams safety, as well as a certain blader by the name of Kon. You wouldn't want to risk his life now would you?" The man pulled out his wild card. He knew his grandson would do anything for that boy's safety. They didn't invent satellites for nothing, you know.  
  
"That reminds me. You'll serve penance for that weakness. I won't let my own grandson grow weak for some no good blader."  
  
"You can't do this! I'll fight you. With everything I have, I'll fight you." Kai snarled at his grandfather.  
  
"Ha. You have nothing. Now if I don't see you fighting for the Demolition boys in the next match I'll make sure you never have the chance to tell Kon how you feel. It will be on your head if something should happen to him." With those final remarks the screen turned off and the room became shrouded in darkness. He knew he had to fight with the Russian team if he wanted his friends to be protected from his grandfather, his conscience wouldn't allow him to do otherwise. He was stuck in a jam and couldn't think of any other way out.  
  
"Damn you, Grandfather." He snarled at the blank screen. 'How did you know how I felt for Rei?' He wondered angrily.  
  
Suddenly Boris entered the pitch black room.  
  
"Your grandfather will be arriving within the hour and has asked to hold you in a private waiting room." He said coldly, before two abbey men grabbed him roughly and dragged him through the halls, kicking and screaming.  
  
"Let me go you filth!" He raged, trying desperately to bite one of the men. He knew why he was being forced to wait. His 'penance' was going to be carried out when his grandfather arrived.  
  
"Now, Kai. There's no use fighting us. You'll only cut your endurance down." Boris laughed. He was walking just behind the men so Kai could see him.  
  
"Let me go!" He screamed again, and continued to fight off the men. Another two had to help secure his thrashing legs.  
  
They passed by Tala and the other Demolition Boys and Kai looked at them for support, but was greatly disappointed. They just smirked and shook their heads. Kai spit on them and snarled primally.  
  
"Kai?" A familiar voice called from around a corner, just as they were turning it. They ran smack into the Bladebreakers who were searching for Kai again in hopes to get him to reconsider coming back to the team.  
  
"Kai!" Takao exclaimed again as they recognised the struggling figure. Hearing his friends, Kai renewed his struggle and managed to dislodge the two who held his feet.  
  
"Let me go you bastards!" He cried and kicked at the other two who held his arms.  
  
Without hesitation Takao leapt at one of the men and began to help him. All he could think about was that Kai needed his help. Rei and Max on the other hand were stunned to see that Kai was being forced into the abbey again.  
  
"You better let him go if you know what's good for you." Rei yelled out and joined in the fight to free Kai. Unfortunately more men had come at Boris' call and they effortlessly pried the three teens off, and secured Kai again.  
  
"Take Kai to his grandfather." Boris told Kai's captors and looked down at a battered Kai. "I'll see to it that you get extra special treatment after that stunt." He snarled before the men dragged him away.  
  
"Kai!" Rei called out, but the men restrained him from going to his team mate.  
  
"As for you three," Boris said spinning on the remaining kids. "If I ever hear that you've come back, I'll make sure you never Beyblade again. I'd advise you not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong. It could get chopped off." He nodded to the men holding the three bladers and within seconds they were sprawled on the sidewalk.  
  
***  
  
"Kai's being held against his own will!" Takao exclaimed loudly. "They're forcing him to fight with the Demolition Boys."  
  
The boys had returned to the hotel to report the whole thing to the Chief.  
  
"No way!" Kenny blinked in disbelief but the three nodded solemnly.  
  
"I don't think that struggle we saw had anything to do with the tournament though, Takao." Rei spoke up quietly.  
  
"What?" Takao asked.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Max added.  
  
"Well, you know Kai. He'd never blade for them under the threat of violence. He'd just fight back. But he was resisting, meaning what was about to happen to him wouldn't hurt him emotionally. They weren't blackmailing him then. They were going to do something else."  
  
"Like what, Rei?" Kenny asked, bewildered.  
  
"Well... I don't think he really cares what happens to himself so they must have threatened to expose a secret about him. Or maybe threatened a friend or relative of his." Rei answered.  
  
"So that's what Boris meant by 'special treatment'." Takao muttered. "They were going to beat him or something."  
  
"Exactly." Rei replied darkly. "I don't feel so good, guys. I'm gonna skip dinner tonight and just go straight to sleep."  
  
"'Kay. Good-night Rei." Kenny nodded.  
  
"Tomorrow we'll work on our rescue plan for breaking Kai out of there!" Takao cheered and pumped a fist into the air, restoring the joy to the room, for the most part.  
  
"Good night Rei." Max smiled and waved as Rei turned and walked quietly back to his room.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, Kai was lying in front of his grandfather's chair. It had taken ten minutes to get him into that room and Kai had made it no easier, getting his second and third wind and resisting the men the whole way. Finally he had passed out with a blow to the head and tossed in front of the chair to wait for his grandfather's arrival.  
  
The man dug his toe into his grandson's side and shoved brutally.  
  
"Get up you stupid boy." He growled unpleasantly. Kai stirred slightly, but was jarred awake when a steel-toed boot collided swiftly with his side again.  
  
"AHH!" He screamed and willed the tears to stay down.  
  
"Good, you're awake." His grandfather laughed gruffly. He pulled Kai up by his blood-stained scarf and punched the boy mercilessly.  
  
After a few moments of this, he tossed Kai into a wall. He was so weak by now that he just winced and slid to the floor. He was able to force down the pain and ignore it for the most part, like he had always done with the older Hiwatari's abuse. His eyes were sealed shut by tears and dried blood that had flowed from a cut he received earlier when he was with Boris, but they were pried open wide when his grandfather backhanded him across the face. The many rings on the older man's hand slashed into Kai's cheek sending blood down his face.  
  
"Next time you'll know better than to resist me. I'll assume you'll not have anymore weaknesses from now on. You're dismissed." He waved the now bloodied hand and walked out of the parlour.  
  
After a few minutes Kai was able to pick himself up. After making sure his cold impenetrable gaze was fixed on his face he walked out of the abbey and into the street.  
  
The biting wind was harsh but Kai didn't notice it at all. He needed the cold air on his bruises and he needed the space to think freely. He raised a hand to his torn face and frowned. Once the blood had dried he'd have to reapply the blue triangles to hide another couple of scratches.  
  
'The cold air will hopefully make it dry faster.' He thought sternly. He couldn't imagine how his former team mates would react if they saw him now. 'They'd see how weak I really am.'  
  
***  
  
A few hours later Takao, Max and Kenny were sound asleep in the beds beside him, but Rei couldn't sleep. He couldn't erase the image of Kai from his mind.  
  
'He looked so angry.' He thought to himself. He turned his head to the side and frowned at the empty bed beside him. Kai's bed. 'I wish I knew how to help you, Kai. But I don't think we'll be able to get back into the abbey without getting caught.' He was effectively making himself feel worse. He missed their leader. The mornings were never as happy as they were when he was around. No one was around to yell at Takao for eating too much, for sleeping in, for not practicing. No one was in the mood to fill his position as leader or rational one.  
  
'It's not that he was Mr. Cheerful or anything. He just made the atmosphere more down to earth. He was the one to make Takao and Max focus when they were hyper. He was the one to point out our faults and tell us to keep striving for perfection... even if he did that by pointing out each and every one of our faults.' Rei's brows furrowed and he turned away from the empty bed. He rolled over to face Takao's snoring figure.  
  
"Why'd this have to happen now?" He whispered to himself. "We were just beginning to break through to him." He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to halt the tears that threatened to come and tossed back the covers. His insomnia was getting to him and he couldn't stay in the hotel room for much longer. He walked to the door and looked back at his team. No one had woken up. He frowned again looking upon Kai's untouched bed and slipped out the door.  
  
When he was finally outside he leaned his back against the hotel wall and looked up at the stars.  
  
"Where ever you are, Kai... I hope you come back to us... to me. If you can't then we'll just have to come and get you." He whispered and ran into the darkness. He didn't know where he was going but he knew he had to go somewhere to be alone with his thoughts.  
  
***  
  
Rei ran for what seemed like hours and finally ended up in a secluded park that overlooked the rest of the city. He stopped running when he collided head on with someone.  
  
"HEY! Watch where you're going, asshole." Rei heard the person snap from beneath him.  
  
"Kai?" He asked aloud and looked at the person's face.  
  
"Rei." He whispered, wincing only slightly from Rei's body weight on his bruises. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I needed some space and a lot of fresh air. What about you? I thought you'd be in the abbey." Rei stood up and offered his arm to Kai. He ignored the hand and lifted himself up, dusting his pants off a bit. Then he took off sprinting.  
  
"KAI!" Rei yelled, watching his friend run away. Without giving it a second thought he shot off after Kai.  
  
'So, you're as smart as I thought you were.' Kai grinned to himself when he heard Rei's footsteps following him. He headed towards the heart of the city and began to weave in and out of the crowds. He wondered if Rei could keep up. When he reached the end of the main street he dove into an abandoned building and climbed the stairs to the top floor, five stories up. He walked the floor looking for the perfect room when he came across a door that led to a ballroom size space. There was dirt and debris everywhere, piles of old wood were lying, rotting on the floor and a faucet in the corner dripped a steady stream of water. The building was supposed to have been renovated, but that had been over a couple of years ago.  
  
"Kai! I know you're here somewhere. I saw you come up these stairs." Rei called from down the hall. Kai ignored the voice for a moment and walked to where the glass of the windows should have been. He sat down on the sill and gazed out over the city.  
  
"You know, you're very loud when you want to be." He said, not bothering to turn around. He knew Rei was standing in the doorway. "It could get you killed one day."  
  
"Kai, why did you run away?" Rei asked.  
  
"I needed to find a place where we could talk without anyone overhearing us or seeing us." He replied, thinking of the satellites his grandfather had supposedly seen him with.  
  
"You knew I was going to follow you?" Rei asked astonished.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Why did you want to be alone?"  
  
"There's eyes and ears everywhere. Ones that don't want me talking with you."  
  
"Why-"  
  
"You have an awful lot of questions, Rei-kun. Didn't you ever hear the saying 'Curiosity killed the cat'?" Kai smirked and turned to look at Rei who was blushing at the cat remark. Kai's eyes caught his reflection in a broken mirror and he saw his same old face His wounds had stopped bleeding and his triangles were freshly painted on his face.  
  
Rei walked into the room and sat down on the dusty floor beside Kai.  
  
"What was going on at the abbey?" Rei asked softly. "Why were they restraining you?"  
  
"It's none of your concern." Kai snapped. "I just didn't want to go where they wanted me to. You didn't need to get involved."  
  
"But you're a friend." Rei insisted, scooting closer to the wall. He leaned back and looked at the stars, missing the astonished look on Kai's face.  
  
"I-I am?" he sputtered.  
  
"Of course." Rei answered and smiled in Kai's direction. "I just want to help you. Please let me."  
  
"Don't try to rescue me again." Kai replied sternly, regaining his composure. "It'll only cause everyone more grief. If you do then they'll come after you and hurt you guys. Especially you, Rei." He whispered the last sentence. Rei was surprised at this. 'Me?' he wondered.  
  
"Why especially me?" He voiced his thoughts. Kai didn't look back at Rei. "Kai?" He took a couple of deep breaths and stood from the ledge.  
  
"Never mind that. Just let me handle my own problems. I can deal with it." He exclaimed, not noticing that his voice was wavering slightly. Without turning to look at Rei he ran out of the building, hopping Rei wouldn't follow him a second time.  
  
Rei sat on the floor stunned for a few minutes before he sighed and headed back to the hotel. He needed a little sleep and he knew tomorrow would be a long day.  
  
~Finis  
  
Please review! The next chapter is going to be called  
  
Chapter 2: Mr. Dickenson's Advice  
  
Although I'm not sure when it will be posted (it will be soon though). Please tell me what you think. Ja ne  
  
Chibi Neko-chan (a.k.a. Kon-Kun) (I don't know why I have a guy's name for my S/N but it's really sugoi cause it's Rei's... lol... ) 


	2. Mr Dickenson's Advice

Thanks darkness for pointing out my mistake. I had fixed that before I uploaded my story... except I kind of forgot to save the settings. Heh heh. Also I plan on making his grandfather a really mean person. So that might be what you meant by him being OOC.  
  
To Auri: I wouldn't kill Rei without a way for him to come back to life (I can't stand that sort of thing... he has to be alive at the end for me to like it) and since I can't think of a believable way to have him come back, he wont die!  
  
Another Word for Strength  
  
Chapter 2: Mr. Dickenson's Advice  
  
***  
  
"Where were you last night, Rei?" Takao asked while brushing his teeth.  
  
"You were gone for a while.eeth.s i morro before he sighed and headed back to the hotel. lroom size space. loor, five stories u" Max added. Rei had planned on going straight back to the hotel but he couldn't find the will to face his teammates until morning. He had walked the streets of Russia until dawn and didn't wander back until everyone had woken up.  
  
"I just went out for a walk. I thought you guys were asleep." Rei subtlety changed the topic.  
  
"Oh we were." Takao replied. "But Mr. Dickenson was here really early to wake us up."  
  
"Not that you didn't sleep in as usual." Kenny added sarcastically. Takao ignored him.  
  
"He told us you were gone all night." He continued. "He was wondering where you were."  
  
"Oh." Rei said quietly. "I'll let you guys head downstairs for breakfast. I need to get ready quickly. I'll meet you down there." He flashed a reassuring smile at them and closed the door behind them.  
  
He sighed deeply and collapsed tiredly on the nearest bed. He would have just passed out and laid there forever, however, something was underneath him in the sheets and wouldn't allow him to get comfortable. With a growl he flung his hands in the air and sat upright. He turned to get rid of it and put his hand under the sheets to pull the sharp object out when his hand came in contact with cool metal. 'A Beyblade?' he wondered and drew the blade out. It was Dranzer.  
  
"What's Kai's blade doing here?" he wondered aloud to himself. The blade itself was worn down but the bit was glowing as if it was brand new. Rei smiled down at the Phoenix. Using his nails he pried out the bit and tossed aside the blade. He held it tightly in his hand while he began to look for a piece of string. Once he found one he threaded the bit and pulled it over his head. Quickly he shoved the necklace under his clothes and headed to the breakfast downstairs, ignoring his previous ideas of sleep.  
  
'There's always the bus ride over to the stadium.' He thought to himself.  
  
***  
  
"Hey Rei! Over here!" Takao called through the food he had jammed into his mouth. As usual, more than half the food was either on Takao's plate or in his mouth.  
  
"Do you even chew the things you put in there before you swallow?" Kenny sweatdropped and shook his head.  
  
"Of course!" Takao replied, looking a bit offended. "Speaking of courses... Fifth course!" He cheered and dove into his next plate of food. Rei sighed and sat down. He began to poke his toast. No one noticed his lack of appetite except Takao.  
  
"What's wrong Rei?" he asked, putting his fork down. "You aren't normally this quiet. Does it have something to do with our upcoming match? Or another problem."  
  
"It's nothing, Takao." Rei mumbled quietly, continuing to prod his breakfast, moving it from one side of the plate to another.  
  
"Of course it's something." Takao insisted. "You would eat that toast if it was nothing." He pointed out.  
  
"I'm fine, Takao. There's nothing you should be worried about." Rei exclaimed, raising his voice slightly.  
  
"Oh come on, Rei! We're good buddies. You can tell me if something's on your mind. Is it a girl?" Takao refused to give in.  
  
"No, Takao. Just drop the subject." He was beginning to lose his patience.  
  
"So it is a girl." Takao cheered triumphantly. "Who is she? Is she cute? What does she look like? Is it Mariah?"  
  
"WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Rei exploded standing up and slammed his hands on the table. "It's not a girl!" Rei snarled slightly and ran out the door, leaving his team mates behind.  
  
"Woah, what crawled up his but?" Takao asked staring at the door Rei had disappeared through. "He's acting like Kai now." He grumbled before continuing on his plate of food.  
  
"You should be more considerate of Rei's feelings." Kenny scolded Takao. "It's obvious that Rei is more than a little tense these days. Just give him some time and space and he'll calm down."  
  
"Yeah, he must have tried to cool down last night and it didn't work." Max pointed out. "He'll come around."  
  
"Yeah, right. I hope it's soon. We need everyone's support in the next rounds."  
  
***  
  
"I'm glad your grandfather convinced you to stay with our team, Kai." Boris exclaimed cheerfully. Kai glared at the man's back and bit back a snarl. The Demolition Boys were walking towards the arena and their next match. They were heading off against The Majestics of Europe. They all entered the battle area and saw their opponents waiting on the other side of the dish.  
  
"Kai?!" They exclaimed at once. Apparently no one had told them that Kai had switched sides.  
  
"I though you were a Bladebreaker." Oliver exclaimed.  
  
"Was is the key term." Boris laughed.  
  
"I always knew you were a horrible blader, Kai, but I never thought you'd stoop so low as to betray your own team in the World Championships." Johnny called. "That's not just low, that's cowardly." Kai ignored their remarks and crossed his arms.  
  
"Are we going to chat all day or are we going to Beyblade?" he commented snidely. "I thought that's what you were here for. If not, then I'm wasting my time with pathetic losers like you." He emphasized this with a big yawn.  
  
"Why you-" Johnny jumped at Kai shaking his fist at the boy, but Robert held him back.  
  
"That's enough!" he exclaimed seriously. "Lets just do what we came here to do."  
  
***  
  
Up first was Oliver and Kai. They both stepped up to the Classic dish and got into positions.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One! Let it RIP!"  
  
They launched their blades into the dish and before they could blink it was over.  
  
"What happened?!" Oliver exclaimed as his blade appeared at his feet, shattered into tiny pieces.  
  
Kai's blade began to glow and soon Oliver's Unicolyon was no more.  
  
"Unicolyon!" he cried out as his beast was sucked into Black Dranzer. Kai said nothing while this was happening. He raised his hand and his blade returned to his hand.  
  
"So, who's next?" he asked, sounding bored.  
  
Both Robert and Enrique tried to go up against Kai but their blades suffered the same quick fate as Oliver's.  
  
"I'm not going to let you take my Salamolyon without a fight." Johnny growled and stood up to battle.  
  
"It's a shame that there's nothing you can do to stop me." Kai smirked in response.  
  
"Oh, yeah? We'll see. I'm not losing my bit-beast. I'm going to win for his sake."  
  
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Kai said, narrowing his eyes at Johnny.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Johnny asked defensively.  
  
"I have a lot more at stake in this championship than you'll ever have." He answered quietly. "My winnings are worth more than yours ever will. That's why I will win."  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One! Let it RIP!"  
  
"Salamolyon! Attack!" Johnny cried out, launching his blade. He began his attack straight away, not waiting for Kai's blade to hit the dish. When Salamolyon went to ram Kai's blade it was no longer there.  
  
"Huh, where'd it go?" No one could see the blade. It seemed to have vanished.  
  
"Could Kai have been knocked out of the dish?" an announcer commented, a hush drawing over the stadium. Everyone watched as Johnny's blade spun alone in the dish. The crowd waited in stunned silence for a few minutes waiting for Black Dranzer to reappear, but nothing happened.  
  
"It looks as though it's all over." The announcer cheered as Johnny's blade continued to spin in the dish. There was still no sign of Kai's blade and Salamolyon was beginning to wobble and slow down.  
  
"It's not over until I say it's over." Kai called to the announcer and smirked. "Black Dranzer! Attack!" he cried.  
  
Suddenly, like a little black bullet, Kai's Beyblade came crashing down from the ceiling on top of Johnny's blade. The result was an explosion of debris. Not even Johnny's bit was left intact. The beast, having no place to run, was quickly sucked into Kai's blade and disappeared.  
  
"How... how did I let this happen?" Johnny fell to his knees, stunned. His eyes were wide and his face had gone pale.  
  
"I told you, Johnny. Your bit-beast is nothing compared to what I'm fighting for." Kai sneered and walked away.  
  
"The victory goes to the Demolition Boys after an astounding upset."  
  
Kai walked up to the door and was met by the rest of the Russian team.  
  
"Nice work, Kai." Boris congratulated him. "You are a fine blader."  
  
"I'm the best." Kai stated. "With me on the team there's no need for trash like them." he nodded towards Tala and the rest of the team.  
  
"Why you little-" Tala shrieked and lunged at Kai, trying to get a shot at his head. It took everyone, including Boris, to hold him back.  
  
"My point exactly." Kai yawned. He hadn't even flinched when Tala jumped at him.  
  
Turning his back on the Demolition Boys, he walked out of the stadium, not bothering to give them a second glance.  
  
***  
  
"Wow. Did you see what just happened?" Takao asked, his eyes wide. "Tala just tried to take a shot at Kai."  
  
"Yeah. I guess they aren't too pleased to have Kai on their team and taking all the credit for their wins." Max nodded.  
  
"Kai must have said something really bad to get him riled up this much." Kenny pointed out. Tala was still struggling with his team to run after Kai and show him just what 'trash' could do.  
  
"I think we should head over to the arena for our next match." Rei exclaimed, turning their attention from Kai's argument. He was fidgeting in his seat and was looking a little bit nervous.  
  
"Sure, Rei." Takao replied cheerfully, totally oblivious to Rei's discomfort.  
  
***  
  
"Concentrate, Rei!" Kenny called to his friend. Rei wasn't fairing too greatly against their opponent. It didn't seem like he could focus on the match. Too many things were clouding his mind. He could only focus on the things Kai had revealed to him the night before.  
  
He noticed too late that Drigger was losing speed. 'Oh, no. I have to concentrate!' he thought suddenly.  
  
"Drigger! Tiger claw attack!" he called on the power of his bit-beast, but the call came too late and Drigger ran out of steam before he could attack the other blade. His blade wobbled chaotically and rolled to a stop in the centre of the dish.  
  
"No." Rei whispered, realizing he had lost his concentration and the match. Luckily for him, though, Drigger hadn't left him again.  
  
He picked up his blade and sat down on the bench beside Kenny.  
  
"It's ok, Rei. You just need to rest a little, sort through the storm in your head." Kenny advised. Rei smiled thankfully.  
  
"Thanks, Kenny." He said softly and watched Takao walk up to the dish for the final match.  
  
***  
  
"Hey, Mr. Dickenson." Rei called to the man. "May I ask your advice on something?" he questioned.  
  
"Why, of course!" Mr. Dickenson smiled cheerfully. "What can I help you with?" the rest of the Bladebreakers were lounging in the lobby and Rei had gone upstairs to think. He was lucky enough to catch Mr. Dickenson before the man entered his own hotel room.  
  
Mr. Dickenson led Rei into his room and sat down on his bed to listen to the teen.  
  
"Does this have something to do with Kai?" he asked perceptively. "I know that you were quite fond of him. Much more so than everyone else. You were quite heartbroken when he left, ne?" he smiled. Rei sat down suddenly beside him.  
  
"Hai." He didn't realize his actions made his emotions so transparent. "I know he didn't want to leave our team of his own choice, but I don't know how to get him to open up to me. When I try to get him to talk he begins to clam up."  
  
"Kai will talk to you when he's good and ready." Mr. Dickenson told him. "You just have to be around when he does. Let him know you're there for him and you'll listen, no questions asked. When he finally does open up, as I'm sure he will, you have to be supportive and not force things from him."  
  
"Oh." Rei exclaimed softly. "It's like that saying, 'Patience is a virtue', huh?"  
  
"Yes. If you are patient enough, you'll be rewarded greatly." Mr. Dickenson winked cheerfully and stood back up.  
  
"Thank you very much, sir." Rei smiled, his first genuinely happy smile since Kai had left. With that, he ran out of the door.  
  
***  
  
Gasping for breath, Rei rested a hand on the stone wall of the abbey.  
  
"May I help you?" A gate guard asked, appearing suddenly before him.  
  
"Yeah, may I please see Hiwatari Kai?"  
  
"Sure, just one moment." The guard disappeared, and a few minutes later Kai came to the gates.  
  
"Rei?!" he sounded surprised. "What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed.  
  
"I'm here to tell you that if you need someone to talk to... about anything and everything, I'm here for you." Rei's eyes twinkled in the darkness. "I'll listen to everything you say. I won't interrupt and I won't ask any questions." Kai's eyes widened in surprise. No one had ever told him that before.  
  
"If you want to listen to me, meet me in the same place as yesterday, in one hour." He whispered hurriedly and disappeared into the shadows. Rei was surprised. He hadn't thought it would be that easy to talk to Kai. Now all he had to do was find the old building they were in and wait for Kai.  
  
***  
  
Easier said than done. Rei had been paying more attention to Kai than where he was going and now couldn't find the building.  
  
"I know it's around here somewhere." He mumbled. He wad been searching for it for nearly an hour and had had no luck. He finally came to the end of a street and looked hopefully at the big building. It looked very old and ruined. It had five floors just like he remembered. And it's front door was missing. Rei dashed inside and bounded up the stairs, hoping this was the right building. When he reached the fifth floor he began quietly searching every room for Kai. He didn't want it to be known that he couldn't remember where he was.  
  
"You're ten minutes late." A voice echoed from the next room he checked. Kai was sitting in the same position as the night before and had his back to Rei.  
  
"Yeah, I kind of got lost." He winced as he confessed to Kai.  
  
"What did you mean earlier when you said you'd listen to me?" Kai asked, a hint of hope in his voice.  
  
"I meant just that." Rei explained. "What ever you want to talk about, I'll be here to listen to it. You can talk about everything and nothing. If you have something on your mind you can tell me. If you want to tell me how your day went, I'd be more than glad to listen. It also means that I won't pressure you to say anything and if you tell me something I won't question you about it. I'll listen." He walked over and sat down beside Kai in the same position they were in before.  
  
"And if you don't want to talk at all... I'll listen to the silence." He added. It was quiet again for a few minutes before anyone spoke.  
  
"That was the worst battle I've ever seen you fight, today." Kai said softly. "I've never seen you so unfocused. You need to ignore the outside world and it's problems. In a Beyblade battle the rest of the world doesn't matter." Rei smiled and nodded, careful not to say anything.  
  
"Tell Takao that he needs to work on his launching to get more speed into his blade and tell Max that he needs to focus his training more on the offence. I don't know how you guys ever made it this far without me." Rei could hear the smile in Kai's voice.  
  
Kai looked down at the mop of black hair below him and trailed off. He really didn't know what else to tell him.  
  
"What else would you like me to talk about?" he asked.  
  
"If you don't mind me butting my nose in, what was that fight all about?" Rei asked, purposely trying to avoid any touchy subjects.  
  
"Between me and Tala?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"It wasn't really much." Kai answered. "I just told Boris that since I'm fighting for the Demolition Boys they didn't need to have the others around. I believe my exact words were 'With me on the team there's no need for trash like them.' or something like that." He looked back at Rei when he heard snickering. "I really don't see what there is to get upset about." He added stubbornly.  
  
"You called him trash." Rei chuckled heartily. "That and it seems to me he feels that he's being overshadowed by you. You're taking his team." Kai thought about that for a moment.  
  
"Oh. I see what you mean now." Kai said. "But I still meant what I said."  
  
Rei looked up at Kai and smiled. 'You never change, do you?' he asked in his mind.  
  
"How come you are only listening?" Kai asked.  
  
"Well I was told that if you wanted someone to open up to you you'd have to let them do it on their own time." Rei answered, remembering what Mr. Dickenson told him. "I wanted to let you know that I'd always be here for you and even if you don't tell me all the demons of your past at least I have the pleasure of your company. You mean a lot more to me and the rest of the Bladebreakers than you know. Plus you're a friend and no matter what Takao says we all value your opinion."  
  
"I hope you aren't getting sappy on me." Kai growled.  
  
"Hell, no. Just spouting common knowledge." He smiled at Kai. Kai returned the smile, which startled Rei at first, and then stood from the window sill.  
  
"Maybe I can try that listening thing on you sometime." Kai said gruffly, standing with his back to Rei.  
  
"Well, since there's no battles tomorrow, we could always meet here again." Rei stood up, following Kai's example, and dusted off the seat of his pants.  
  
"I'll think about it." Kai replied, turning slightly to look at Rei from the corner of his eye. The boy had his back to Kai and was staring awestruck at the view from the window. "I'll find you if I choose to." He added, not really caring if Rei heard him or not. He walked to the door.  
  
"Wait, Kai." Rei turned to Kai. "One more thing."  
  
Kai turned around and was enveloped in a bear-hug.  
  
"I'll always be there for you, Kai." He whispered. "No matter what side you're on." Kai was shocked at this. He couldn't ever remember a time when anyone had offered him this form of comfort. He smiled. It made him feel much calmer, like it was giving him assurance that he wasn't going to be alone forever. He returned the embrace and nuzzled his face into Rei's warm neck, while Rei did the same.  
  
"Thank you." Kai whispered.  
  
***  
  
Kai walked back to the abbey alone. The semi-cool breezes made Kai shiver in remembrance of the warm hug he had just come out of. His insides felt like ice.  
  
When he got to his room he made no effort to change his clothes and curled up beneath the sheets of his bed. He couldn't get images of earlier that night out of his head. His mind just kept replaying it for him, causing him to toss and turn, unable to find a comfortable spot.  
  
After a couple of hours trying to find a position, Kai passed out from exhaustion and drifted into a restless slumber, haunted only by the memories of that night.  
  
***  
  
While Kai was having trouble, Rei slipped into his own bed and smiled. He had accomplished a lot in one day and he felt so much better than when he had woken up. He knew he was much closer to Kai than ever before and it wouldn't be too much longer before he finally found the heart of Kai's problems and the reason he was battling for the Demolition Boys. He wouldn't give up until he solved his little mystery, even if it took every ounce of patience he had.  
  
"I'll find a way, Kai." He murmured to himself as he began to fall asleep. "I know I can think of a way to get you out of whatever blackmail is holding you to the Russian team."  
  
He fell into a deep peaceful slumber and smiled at a job well done. in the morning he'd have to thank Mr. Dickenson.  
  
~Finis  
  
Hope you liked it. I know it may seem like a lot (over 3500 words in this chapter alone) but I really hate those chapters that hardly have any story in them and aren't even 500 words long.  
  
Also I just wanted to point out that every chapter is more or less one day (Chapter 1: Thursday, Chapter 2: Friday) and I'm planning to have the finals held on next Friday (meaning chapter 9) and I hope that that will be the last chapter. If not then I will spread out Friday to Chapter 10. (I'm nearly done the outline and I'm in the middle of typing up chapter 6!!!)  
  
Coming up: Chapter 3: the Truth's Consequences 


	3. The Truth's Consequences

Guess what? I'm finished the outline! It turned out to be nine chapters after all! I have a few words to say tho before I continue...  
  
To Rei, Oliver, and Kai r da bomb~ hee hee... when ever I see your name I take offence cause I see Rei, Oliver, and Kai r dumb... I know... I'm blind... but I always see that when I look at your name! (just had to point that out... not like you care...)  
  
To Kapparan Majic and Serenity~ I'm glad that you like my story, but you might have misunderstood what I said in the second chapter. Each chapter includes one day for the Bladebreakers... not that I'm posting one chapter per day (even though that's what I've been doing) but I'm gonna take a break for a few days and try to type up the next few chapters (meaning six to nine)  
  
To aishiteru (from chapter one)~ I'm sorry but I have to hurt Rei... um... just read on to see what I mean.  
  
To Kai Hiwatari (who e-mailed me)~ thanx for the e-mail! Even though this says it's part romance... you can read it mostly like a friendship fic (I didn't realise that until I read your e-mail). I didn't really become a true Kai/Rei fan until I read a Kai/Rei story just to try something new. I know that Rei ends up with Mariah in the end and I'm fine with that. I think the only reason I like this yaoi pairing is because they are the hottest (and coolest) beybladers in the show (not to mention that they're also my faves). That's probably the only reason I can think of that so many people are into this pairing. Or maybe it's because they're five teenage guys spending all of their time together and they don't seem too interested in girls so... (Sorry guys but it's true... around that age you start looking at girls a lot more... a lot... I mean look at Enrique... I rest my case.)  
  
And last but not least to darkness~ I love your stories!!! Here's my post just like I promised you so now I want you to post the next chapter of your story! And now on to the story...  
  
Another Word for Strength  
  
Chapter 3: The Truth's Consequences  
  
***  
  
Rei woke up when the sunlight in his eyes began to bother him. He groaned and tossed back the covers. Climbing out of bed, he made his way over to the bathroom and splashed water on his face in order to better wake himself. The cool water effectively washed away the sleep from his eyes and he smiled at his reflection. Everything about this day seemed like a good sign. For the first time, Rei was in a very good mood and even the weather seemed to reflect his cheerfulness.  
  
When he was sure he was fully awake, Rei changed into some comfortable clothes and smiled seeing Dranzer's bit still hanging from his neck. The metal glinted in the sunlight. He tucked the beast beneath his shirt and went to the dining room to see if everyone else was downstairs. He had been the only one in the room when he woke up.  
  
***  
  
"Hey, Rei!" Takao called out to him when he walked into the room. Everyone was there. Well, everyone except Kai.  
  
"Good morning, Rei." Mr. Dickenson exclaimed cheerfully. "How did it go?" Rei smiled happily.  
  
"It worked perfectly." He replied, taking a seat at their table. "Thank you very much for the help."  
  
"What worked perfectly?" Takao asked confusedly. He was looking from Rei to Mr. Dickenson and back again. He had a thoroughly confused look on his face. In fact all of the Bladebreakers looked at Rei this way. "What help?"  
  
Rei laughed and waved a hand.  
  
"Oh, nothing." He smiled mischievously. Mr Dickenson winked at Rei and excused himself.  
  
"I believe I have some work to do." His eyes twinkled. "I'll be seeing you four later."  
  
He turned and left Rei alone to face his team's questions. They wanted to know the secret to his happiness.  
  
"Come on, Rei. Spill." Takao pushed, forgetting what happened yesterday when he pushed Rei too far.  
  
Rei continued to smile as he piled his plate with pancakes and began to eat.  
  
"AWW!" Max groaned. The suspense was killing them. "You've got to tell us what you two are talking about."  
  
Rei finished his pancakes and looked at the team. He cracked another grin and winked.  
  
"No I don't." he laughed and walked out of the room. "I'm gonna go for a walk. See you guys later." He called over his shoulder and left them in disappointment.  
  
***  
  
Rei walked for most of the day and checked out all the different Beyblading stores. He had been meaning to get a couple of new defence rings to test out some new moves for their next match.  
  
Just as he was walking out of one of the stores someone ran head first into him, making him crash to the ground. The boy didn't stop, only stumbled, and continued to run.  
  
"You're excused!" Rei called angrily, but never caught sight of the boy who crashed into him. Picking up his bags again he dusted himself off and continued to walk.  
  
He headed to a restaurant and decided to have some lunch before he headed back to the hotel.  
  
Once the waitress had taken his order he pulled out his wallet to make sure he had enough money and noticed a folded envelope fall out of his pocket.  
  
"That wasn't there this morning." He muttered to himself and picked up the envelope.  
  
His name was scribbled on the front. Raising an eyebrow, he opened the envelope to find a letter inside. He took it out and read it.  
  
~Rei,  
  
I'd like to meet you again tonight in the usual place at sunset. I assume you won't be late this time.  
  
~Kai  
  
It was short and simple.  
  
'So that's who ran me over.' Rei grinned to himself. The waitress had returned with his order and he shoved the letter back into his pocket.  
  
***  
  
Rei finished his lunch and hit a couple more stores before heading back to the hotel. He punched the elevator button and waited until the doors opened.  
  
"Rei!" Takao shouted and came running at him.  
  
"Woah, Takao!" Rei grinned as Takao came to a sliding stop in front of him. "What's up?"  
  
"We were just coming to look for you." Takao exclaimed breathlessly. "We're going to do some practicing in our rooms. Do you want to come?"  
  
"Sure!" Rei answered and followed Takao into the elevator.  
  
"So what was Mr. Dickenson talking about this morning?" Takao asked.  
  
"You're still bugging me about that?" Rei laughed. "It's our little secret." He replied, making Takao even more frustrated.  
  
"Why won't you tell us?"  
  
"Then it wouldn't be a secret."  
  
"You're no fun."  
  
"I know."  
  
The elevator doors opened and they walked to their room. The beds had been pushed to the walls and a mini arena had been set up in the center. Max and Kenny were lounging on the beds waiting for Rei and Takao.  
  
"Hey guys!" Max greeted them. "We were waiting for you. Let's get going."  
  
"Who wants to go first?" Kenny asked.  
  
"How about Takao and Max can go first and I'll face the winner." Rei opted.  
  
"Great idea." Takao exclaimed and stood on one side of the dish. Max got ready on the other side.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One. Let it RIP!" Takao and Max launched their blades into the dish. This reminded Rei of Kai's comments on their skills. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to tell them. About his suggestions without letting them know Kai had told him all of them.  
  
"Takao, you should work on your launches." Rei spoke up. "You aren't getting enough speed into them." He instructed. Takao nodded and called on his bit-beast.  
  
"Attack, Dragoon!" when Rei thought about it, Kai's observations were pretty obvious. In the next few minutes Dragoon would run out of steam, and Draciel was doing nothing but defence.  
  
"Max!" Rei called. "Attack him! You can't do anything if you do nothing but defence." Max's eyebrows went wide as he noticed his error and he smiled.  
  
"Thanks, Rei!" he gave Rei a thumbs up and called on his beast.  
  
"Go, Draciel!" both bit-beasts emerged from their blades and collided head on. Since Takao had messed up on the launch his blade was the first to stop moving.  
  
"Aw, man." He groaned. "Thanks, Rei, for pointing out what went wrong with my shot."  
  
"No prob." He smiled. He pulled out his blade and stepped up to the dish.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One. Let it RIP!"  
  
'I have to focus on the battle and the battle alone.' Rei chanted to himself. 'The battle is no place for personal issues.'  
  
"Go, Drigger!" he called out and attacked Max head on. He was calm and focused. In a brilliant flash of light Draciel was sent flying back to Max's hand.  
  
"Nice job, Rei." Kenny congratulated him. "I see you've been able to clear your head."  
  
"Nobody will be able to stand in our way!" Takao cheered and pumped his fist into the air. They continued to practice and work on polishing up their moves.  
  
***  
  
When Rei was finally finished with practice the sun was beginning to set. He hurried out of the hotel giving Takao an excuse of a forgotten errand and ran off to meet with Kai. He walked quickly to the building and hurried up the stairs.  
  
"Hey, Kai." He greeted the boy at the window. Kai turned and smiled at Rei half-heartedly. "You wanted to talk?"  
  
"No." Kai replied. "I wanted you to talk. You can't just listen. I want to know some things about you." Rei smiled and sat down on the other side of the window sill.  
  
"Well, what do you want to know?" he asked.  
  
"How about you tell me about your past."  
  
"Ok. On paper I'm an orphan, but I know that I was abandoned when I was little." Rei began. Kai was startled at this. 'How can someone give up him by choice?' he thought, but remained silent.  
  
"I was taken in by Lee's family and we became quick friends. By the time the child care people found an adopted family for me I had settled into my lifestyle so comfortably that Lee's family decided to adopt me, themselves. I don't know exactly what happened, but I heard that my parents had been the ones who wanted me back and were threatening to go to the courts for custody over me, but the expenses were too much for them. Last I heard they were traveling in Europe. That was about five years ago, though." He sighed. He didn't like thinking about his real parents. "Nobody but you knows that I know all this. From what I hear, Lee's parents were close friends with my real mother and father, until they made millions of dollars. They ignored all their friends, believing they were superior to everyone. I think they probably thought about all the cash they'd have to spend on me when they decided to leave me. Then they figured I could make them more money in the long run and came back for me."  
  
"I never knew." Kai whispered apologetically.  
  
"Nobody did." Rei shrugged lightly. It was all behind him and he didn't care for these people anyways. "I bet that they're hitting themselves now, knowing that they could have been parents to a member of the team that wins the Beyblade World Championship." He added lightly.  
  
"What makes you think that you'd beat the Demolition Boys?" Kai asked.  
  
"I don't think, I know, because the Bladebreakers are the best team and we will win against any opponent."  
  
"Are you so sure you'll be able to win against me and Black Dranzer?" Kai hadn't even thought that he might have to face the Bladebreakers in the finals. He knew Black Dranzer could handle all of their beasts, but he didn't want to take Drigger from Rei.  
  
"Yup." Rei replied smiling. "Oh, that reminds me, I have something of yours." He fumbled with his shirt and drew out the bit-beast around his neck. He lifted it from his neck and handed it to Kai.  
  
Kai looked at Rei's hand and turned away.  
  
"Keep it." He exclaimed, his voice emotionless. "Maybe you can keep it safe for me. That way at least one bit-beast can survive against my grandfather. Think of it as something to remember me by."  
  
"Why does your grandfather want the bit-beasts?" Rei asked, returning the bit-beast to its place beneath his shirt.  
  
"I'm not sure really. He probably thinks he can rule the world if he is in possession of all of them, and thinks he can use me to get them." Kai looked up at Rei to find the boy staring deep into his eyes. He could see the question he wanted to ask but couldn't.  
  
"I guess you want to know what happened the other day with the men from the abbey." He sighed. "Please keep what I'm about to tell you a secret from the rest of the Bladebreakers." Rei nodded and he continued.  
  
"I had just finished having a little argument with my grandfather and he came to take me to speak with my grandfather personally. I had already been told that I was going to be punished for... a weakness I had acquired. He wanted to try and beat the weakness out of me. They were dragging me off when you guys came." Rei's eyes were wide with surprise.  
  
"He was going to beat you?" he asked, shocked.  
  
"Yeah, and did. I was bleeding for hours." Kai let his head hang.  
  
"But you looked fine when I saw you later that night." Rei insisted, hoping Kai was lying. "You look fine now." Kai looked up at Rei smiling grimly.  
  
"The wonders of a little make-up." He said and dragged a finger across his face, smudging the painted triangles. He stood up and walked over to the corner where the leaky faucet stuck out of the wall. Putting his hands beneath the water, he splashed his face and scrubbed it clean of the triangles with the sleeve of his jacket.  
  
Rei gasped when he saw Kai's paint-free face. It was littered with cuts and bruises.  
  
"Oh, Kai." Rei whispered. He couldn't say anything else. "Why do you stay there?" he asked after a few moments.  
  
"That's the million dollar question I suppose." Kai shrugged and sat down beside Rei again. "My grandfather knows a deep secret of mine, even though I've tried to hide it from everyone, including myself. How he found out about it, I'll never understand, but he's using it against me." Rei nodded.  
  
"I also don't want you guys to get involved in this. Stay away from the abbey. He won't hesitate to hurt you if you try to help me. If my grandfather finds out that I've been meeting with you, he'll make sure you are hurt. Seriously." Kai's eyes shone with worry.  
  
"If you see him walking your way I want you to promise to walk the other way." He pleaded. "He hates the Bladebreakers and you especially. Please don't try anything. I can get myself out of this."  
  
"I'll do it for you." Rei nodded, wondering if this warning had anything to do with him being forced into blading for the Demolition Boys.  
  
"If I blade for the Demolition Boys then I'll be okay." Rei frowned, doubting what Kai said.  
  
"I don't believe that for a second but I'll do what you say." He sighed in frustration.  
  
"I have to go back to the abbey, now." Kai exclaimed, looking out over the city. "Thanks for meeting me here."  
  
"Anytime." Rei grinned, ignoring the foreboding feeling he was beginning to get in the pit of his stomach. He hugs Kai before he can second guess himself and smiles when he felt Kai wrap his arms around his waist, returning the hug.  
  
"We all miss you, Kai. Especially me." He whispered into Kai's ear. Kai didn't respond and let Rei go. He turned and walked out of the building.  
  
'I wish I could tell you how I feel about you.' Rei thought sadly before following Kai's example and heading back to the hotel.  
  
***  
  
Kai slipped back into the abbey, completely unnoticed by any of the guards. He quickly made his way to his room and closed the door quietly behind him, hoping no one would have noticed his absence. He leaned his back against the door and nearly had a heart attack.  
  
Hiwatari-sama was sitting in a leather chair at the desk, waiting for him. Kai's heart began to race and he prayed that Rei would be ok.  
  
"I've been waiting for you, Kai." He said sharply. "You've ignored me again. I thought I told you to stay away from that boy." His voice was steadily getting angrier. "You never listen, do you? I'll just have to punish you again. How about if we pay Kon a little visit?" he laughed harshly. Kai's eyes widened in horror.  
  
"No!" he cried. "You leave Rei out of this." He commanded. He didn't like the evil glint in his grandfather's eyes.  
  
"Oops." He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. Kai's eyes grew wider and his mouth fell open.  
  
"For your insolence, you'll feel my wrath ten times what I've shown you." He snarled as three men stepped out of the shadows and began to assault Kai. Through all of the pain and freely flowing blood, Kai could only think of what they had done to Rei.  
  
"Rei!" Takao yelled shrilly. The Bladebreakers all rushed over to where Takao was standing and saw the boy's body lying a couple hundred feet from the hotel. His clothes were torn and he was covered from head to toe with his own blood.  
  
"Max, get Mr. Dickenson and have the front desk call the hospital." Kenny ordered while Takao kneeled beside Rei's body to check for a pulse. Max nodded and sprinted back to the hotel.  
  
"He's still alive." Takao said solemnly. "Nothing seems to be broken, though."  
  
"What happened to him?" Kenny asked in bewilderment. Rei's eyes began to flutter open and he groaned before coughing up a bit of blood. His eyes remained at half-mast and he groaned again.  
  
"He knows about our visits." He whispered hoarsely before passing out again.  
  
Finis  
  
That's it for chapter three. That's what Rei gets for wanting to know the truth.  
  
Coming up next:  
  
Chapter Four: Sweet Revenge  
  
Please review or e-mail me (firebird_dranzer@hotmail.com) one of my many. If you want to chat or just send a review that's fine. 


	4. Sweet Revenge

I'm sitting here, in the dark, working on chapter seven. It's cause my light began to leak some kind of liquid and I can't be bothered trying to fix it. It may be because I kinda just accidentally flooded the upstairs bathroom... twice. But I've been sick since Sunday and there's no way I'm going to take care of a sick house, too (wonderful timing too... just at the start of the Christmas break...).  
  
Another Word for Strength  
  
Chapter 4: Sweet Revenge  
  
***  
  
When Max returned, Mr. Dickenson wasn't far behind.  
  
"The ambulance is on the way." He told them, but Takao and Kenny weren't listening. Takao was trying to gently shake Rei back into consciousness.  
  
"Come on, Rei." He exclaimed. "What visits?"  
  
"What's Takao talking about?" Max asked. Kenny looked up at him.  
  
"When you left Rei woke up for a second and whispered 'He knows of our visits'. Then he passed out again." Kenny explained. Rei was beginning to come around again.  
  
"T-Takao?" he whispered gruffly. "Where am I?"  
  
"You're just outside of the hotel." Takao spoke up. "The ambulance is coming. What visits were you talking about?" Rei tried to sit up and winced as a sharp pain shot through his chest. He ignored it and graciously accepted his friends help.  
  
"I've been meeting with Kai in secret." He told them. Everyone but Mr. Dickenson was shocked. "It wasn't any big deal, we would just talk about general things. But Kai told me his grandfather didn't like him being on our team or even being friends with us. I guess he must have found out about me meeting with him and didn't like it too much."  
  
"Kai's grandfather did this to you?" Kenny asked in disbelief.  
  
"Indirectly, yes."  
  
"He hired someone to do this to you?" Rei nodded.  
  
"Actually, I was attacked by a couple of people."  
  
They heard the ambulance pull up to the hotel and two men jumped out. They cleared everyone back and put Rei onto a stretcher. While everyone stayed back, Rei motioned Mr. Dickenson to come closer.  
  
"Kai's in trouble." He whispered softly so only the two of them could hear. "His grandfather has been beating him. He's blackmailing Kai into battling for the Demolition Boys. Kai made me promise not to tell the Bladebreakers about this, but I need to know how I am supposed to help him, when I can't even help myself." He gestured to his own battered body. Mr. Dickenson smiled patted his shoulder reassuringly.  
  
"Don't worry about Kai anymore." He replied gently. "I am sure I can think of something to get him back safely." Rei smiled back, gratefully and closed his eyes. Mr. Dickenson moved out of the way and let Rei be loaded onto the ambulance.  
  
"So, would you guys like a ride to the hospital?" he asked, turning to Takao, Max and Kenny as the ambulance drove off. They hadn't heard anything of their conversation.  
  
"Sure."  
  
***  
  
"What were you two talking about?" Takao asked ten minutes later. They had changed quickly and were almost at the hospital.  
  
"Oh, nothing." Mr. Dickenson replied.  
  
"You know something about this don't you?" Kenny added. "You know more about what's going on between Rei and Kai than we do."  
  
"True, but what Rei told me was to be kept between him and me. His little secret could get all three of you in the hospital if you found out. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"  
  
"Of course not!" Max exclaimed. "But we don't want to let Rei face this alone."  
  
"I'm sure you can give him your support without having to know his secret." Mr. Dickenson said, ending the discussion. They had already arrived at the hospital.  
  
***  
  
They all walked into the hospital and waited for a nurse's attention at the reception desk.  
  
"Yes, may I help you?" a rather plump nurse asked, sitting down in front of a computer.  
  
"We're here to see Kon Rei." Mr. Dickenson spoke up. "Can we have the number of his room?"  
  
"Are you family?"  
  
"No, but we are his team mates and we're as close as brothers." Takao butted in.  
  
"I see." The nurse looked Takao up and down, frowning disapprovingly. "He's in room 127, down the hall on your right. The doctor is just examining him and will be done in a few minutes."  
  
"Thanks." Mr. Dickenson replied, the boys had left when she said Rei's room number. They looked into the room to see a brunette looking over Rei one last time.  
  
"How is he?" Max asked.  
  
"He'll be fine." She smiled at them. "He's got a couple of major gashes down his back and in his sides, probably made by keys, and two cracked ribs. His left shoulder is very bruised, but I think he'll be able to blade in the tournament in a couple of days. You can check him out tomorrow morning."  
  
"How did you know he was a blader?" Kenny asked.  
  
"He refused to let me take off his bit-beast. It was tied to a string around his neck." She replied, motioning to Rei. He was fast asleep on the bed, chest bare except for a long bandage wrapped around his ribs. From around his neck hung Dranzer's bit.  
  
"Dranzer?!" Takao exclaimed. "But that's Kai's bit-beast."  
  
"Well, whoever it belongs to it's very special to him. He kept telling me to let him keep Dranzer. He was very stubborn about that one bit. Said something about it being left in his possession by a close friend."  
  
"Kai? A close friend of anybody?" Takao burst out laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation. He stopped after a moment and looked at everyone's disapproving face.  
  
"Lighten up, would ya?" He grumbled to himself and frowned. The doctor cleared her throat.  
  
"I'll be outside if you need me." She excused herself and left them to visit with Rei. The boys took a seat on either side of Rei's bed and stared at his sleeping form. They watched in silence as Rei's hands curled tightly around the bit that hung from his neck.  
  
"I bet Kai was responsible for this." Takao grumbled. "I bet he set Rei up for this."  
  
"Takao!" Kenny and Max cried at the same time.  
  
"How could you think that Kai would do something like this to one of us?" Max argued back. "You should know that he wouldn't hurt us." Kenny nodded in agreement.  
  
"That may be so," Takao crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared back. "But we believed he wouldn't turn his back on his team mates and we thought he could be trusted to stay with our team, not turn on us at the first opportunity he gets." Takao had a point. None of them had thought Kai would turn on them in Beyblading. "So, if he can turn on us once, he can sure as hell do it twice." Max and Kenny hung their heads in defeat. They knew Takao was right. Then Kenny had an idea.  
  
"But this happened to Rei, too, and it all turned out to be nothing but a misunderstanding."  
  
** "Yeah but he didn't turn on his team before they entered a tournament. He left them to learn more about Beyblading. You saw Kai's face in their first match. He's only in it for power. Screw those of us who befriended him and counted on him." Kenny sighed. Takao was being stubborn and nothing could change his mind except pure hard evidence.  
  
"Kai." Rei mumbled in his sleep, unaware of the boys' conversation. Takao grimaced, knowing that Rei was much more attached to the traitor than the rest of the team.  
  
***  
  
The next morning Kai was woken very painfully.  
  
"Good morning, Kai!" Tala's cheerful voice shattered what ever Kai had had of sleep and caused his head to jerk slightly with the searing pain of a headache. Kai groaned and rolled over, hoping Tala would leave before Kai found the strength to murder him. No such luck.  
  
"Wake up sleepyhead!" he walked into the room and tore open all of Kai's blinds, making Kai's head hurt that much more. He seemed too cheerful for someone who hated anything and everything to do with Kai.  
  
'What the hell is he doing in here anyways?' Kai thought suddenly and opened his eyes. "What the hell are you so happy about?" he growled and tried futilely to sit up. Every muscle in his body hurt and he could swear that he had at least five broken ribs and he was wondering why he couldn't feel his legs. His sheets were soaked in blood and his face was decorated with newly torn skin. His grandfather had been right about his punishment being ten times worse than before.  
  
"Oh, nothing, it's just that I heard about what happened to your little friend." Kai's eyes widened at the mention of Rei.  
  
"What do you know about Rei?" he demanded. Tala laughed.  
  
"Well I heard that he was checked into the hospital." Tala told Kai, enjoying the look of all the blood leave Kai's face. "Yeah, I also heard that he was really battered up. He could barely stay awake and he had to be taken in on a stretcher. There was blood everywhere." One of the most enjoyable things for Tala telling this story was that every shred of it was true. He didn't have to stretch any of it. He kept going. "I went to the hospital because I knew you wanted to know how he was and the nurse gave me the list of injuries." He pulled out a sheet of paper and waved it in front of Kai's face. Kai snarled and snatched the paper from Tala. Without glancing at the sheet he stood up shakily and shoved Tala towards the door.  
  
"Get out of my room." He cried viciously and slammed the door in Tala's smirking face. For once, Tala didn't mind having Kai shut a door in his face, he felt that it was worth every splinter to be the 'Bearer of Bad News' and be able to see the anger and pain on his face. This was the best kind of revenge he could have, and it just happened to fall into his lap. He laughed heartily and rubbed his sore nose, walking back to his room.  
  
***  
  
Kai collapsed to his bed and looked over the sheet of Rei's injuries.  
  
-three cracked ribs -six broken ribs -right arm fractured -bruised shoulder bone -several inch deep gashes along the back, chest, stomach and face  
  
Kai was shocked. He couldn't believe the amount of suffering Rei had gone through. He crumpled up the paper and threw it as hard as he could at the door. He pulled himself up from his bed and walked shakily to the door and latched it shut, before letting loose a glass-shattering wail of pain. He hadn't felt so helpless and vulnerable since his parents were killed. He knew that this was the first time in ten years that he had cried like this.  
  
He collapsed to the floor and began to rock back and forth, curling into a tight ball. He couldn't believe what he had just allowed to happen to the one he was supposed to love.  
  
'If you had really loved him you wouldn't have let this happen to him.' A voice sneered at him in his head. 'Your own stupidity let him get hurt. This is your fault.'  
  
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!" A voice echoed his thoughts. "I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, KAI!!! IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT REI ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL!" Kai stood up and unlocked his door to find Takao standing at the abbey gates, screaming his head off. Takao saw Kai at the door.  
  
"I know Rei doesn't blame you but I sure as hell do!" he continued to yell. "Whatever you told Rei and what ever you were talking about is what put him in the hospital."  
  
"Don't you think I know that already?" Kai yelled back, walking shakily towards the gates, ignoring the people who were beginning to stare. He was thankful that Boris and his Grandfather weren't around to hear this. They were at the stadium, plotting ways to bend the rules to their advantage. "I know I'm hurting him, but he was the only one who bothered to offer me help in the first place. He's the only one who cared enough to listen!"  
  
"And look where it got him!" Takao retorted.  
  
"I didn't think this would happen. I never wanted Rei to be hurt." Kai pleaded with Takao.  
  
"Or maybe you just didn't care that you would hurt him. Rei's too blinded by his love for you that he doesn't see what you're doing to him." Takao would have continued but Kai had come close enough for him to fully see the extent of damage he himself had gone through. He gasped loudly.  
  
Kai tried to walk closer to Takao but he finally lost all of his strength and fell to the ground.  
  
"Kai!" Takao exclaimed, his anger forgotten. The bluenette was breathing heavily but he picked himself carefully off the ground and turned away from Takao.  
  
"Don't come here trying to blame me for Rei's pain." He whispered, only loud enough for Takao to hear. "It's just a waste of time since I already know. You can do nothing more to make me feel guiltier or more sorry for what I've done to him." He began to stumble and stagger his way back to his room.  
  
"Rest assured that it will never happen again. Rei will never see me again unless it is in the beystadium." He fell into his room and slammed the door shut. Takao was too taken aback by Kai's appearance and the things he had said to him. His eyes were still wide and his jaw seemed permanently fixed open. He couldn't believe that Kai looked so battered and beaten, in both body and spirit. Apparently the news of Rei's hospitalization had shaken him up terribly and he looked truly distraught at the thought that he had hurt Rei.  
  
'Maybe I was wrong about him.' Takao thought to himself as he began to walk away. 'He actually took responsibility for it, and I would have thought he'd ignore me.' Then his thoughts began to turn to the state Kai had been in. his shirt was torn in three different places and stained with blood, his triangles were smeared with red and he could swear that he had seen previous gashes lining his face. His jeans were torn as well, and they too were matted with blood. Takao thought he'd never seen Kai in so much pain, but he seemed to just shrug it off. Takao knew that if he was in Kai's position he'd be rolling on the floor crying for days.  
  
'Who did this to you, Kai?' he wondered, walking back to the hotel.  
  
***  
  
"Thanks, you guys, for bringing me back to the hotel." Rei smiled as Max helped Rei onto his bed. They tossed him a couple of pillows to lean back on and sat down. They had just brought Rei back from the hospital and had been told to let Rei get plenty of rest and he would be fine to battle in their next match which was tomorrow.  
  
"It's really no prob." Max winked at their friend. "You're our friend and we'd do anything for you. You should know that by now." He laughed cheerfully. His energetic mood had been restored.  
  
"Hey, where's Takao?" Rei asked.  
  
"We don't know." Kenny answered. "He just told us he had something to take care of and he'd be back soon."  
  
"Knowing him, he found an all you can eat buffet table and is hogging down all the food he can get his hands on." Max laughed. Rei smiled.  
  
Suddenly Takao burst into the room, followed by Mariah and Lee. He smiled as happily as he could muster at Rei and dragged Max and Kenny from Rei's bedside.  
  
"Hey! What's the big deal?" Max asked surprised.  
  
"Well, I just wanted to let Rei's old friends spend the day with him." He replied, nodding to Lee and Mariah, who were taking Max and Kenny's places on the bed. "I think they can keep an eye on Rei and make sure he doesn't do anything too exhausting. Plus I have something to talk to you guys about." He whispered the last part as they left the room.  
  
***  
  
Rei shifted himself to find a comfortable spot and smiled at his friends.  
  
"Thanks for visiting." He mumbled graciously. "I guess I haven't seen you around much."  
  
"It's nothing, Rei." Mariah smiled back and moved closer. Lee only rolled his eyes.  
  
"Since you guys are my best friends, can I tell you something?" Rei asked, somewhat awkwardly. Lee cocked an eyebrow at his friend and nodded.  
  
"Well you see... I'm kind of in love with someone." He blushed as Mariah moved closer to him and began to grin.  
  
"Yes... " she prompted. Lee began to smirk. Both of their actions were beginning to seem strange to Rei.  
  
"Well you see... " Rei began again. "This person that I like is very close to me." Mariah began to grin like an idiot and inched closer.  
  
"I-I'm in l-lo-love w-with..." he stuttered, Mariah inching closer still.  
  
"I'minlovewithKai!" He exclaimed as one word, waiting for the disappointment to appear in Mariah's eyes. Apparently, Lee was waiting for the same thing.  
  
"I KNEW IT!" she cried triumphantly and jumped from the bed, only to begin dancing around the room. "You finally admitted it!" she cheered in a sing- song voice. Lee's eyes became wide and he turned to Rei.  
  
"You knew?" Rei asked Mariah.  
  
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "It was so obvious."  
  
"Yeah, it was only a matter of time before you admitted it out loud." Lee backed her up. He was just getting over the shock of Mariah's little dance. He had fully expected her to get angry or depressed, anything but cheer.  
  
"I thought you liked Rei." He said to her.  
  
"Me too." Rei admitted.  
  
"Nope." She giggled. "I like someone else."  
  
"Who?" Rei asked. She smiled broadly at Rei and looked back and forth from the two boys whose attention she held undivided. She winked at Lee and sat down on the bed.  
  
"He's a friend." She answered deceptively, still grinning from ear to ear. Lee looked at her strangely, not knowing what the wink meant, before turning his attention back to Rei.  
  
"Takao told us what happened to you." He said, draining the room of the previous announcement's euphoria. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine." Rei answered. "I'm much too stubborn to be seriously hurt."  
  
"If that wasn't serious then I don't know what is." Mariah muttered under her breath.  
  
"I'm fine!" Rei repeated. "I didn't break anything."  
  
"Yet." Countered Lee. "Just because we wanted you to admit you liked Kai, doesn't mean he's good for you."  
  
"It's not his fault I got hurt." Rei stood up for his friend. "He's probably hurt worse than me."  
  
"That won't be too good." Mariah muttered. She had a habit of muttering things you didn't want to hear.  
  
"Why isn't that good?" Rei asked curiously.  
  
"Well, the Demolition Boys have a match today." She exclaimed as if that was common knowledge. Rei's eyes went wide.  
  
"Help me get ready." He demanded.  
  
"Why?" asked Lee densely.  
  
"Because I'm going to that match." He stated.  
  
"Are you crazy?" Mariah chided him. "There's no way you're going there in your condition."  
  
"What condition?" Rei argued. "I just have a bunch of cuts and bruises. I'm going to go tomorrow anyways and I need to at least get out and moving before my match. It's not like I'm going to be Blading today. I'm just going to watch." He was right. He couldn't go to a match after an injury without at least doing something. He couldn't just lie in bed and expect to be at his best the next day.  
  
"No." Mariah said. "The doctor said you need to rest."  
  
"But What could I possibly do watching a match that would involve strenuous activity? Walking? I'd have to do that to get anywhere I need to go. I'd just be sitting there doing nothing."  
  
"No, and that's final." Lee said, crossing his arms stubbornly in front of his chest.  
  
***  
  
"You guys are the best!" exclaimed Rei looping both arms around his friends' shoulders. Lee rolled his eyes and Mariah sighed. They were sitting in the front row of the stadium and the Demolition Boys were about to come out to start their match.  
  
"Don't mention it." Lee groaned.  
  
"How'd he talk us into this?" Mariah asked leaning over to talk to Lee.  
  
"How does he always talk us into stuff? If you can answer that one then you have your answer." Rei smiled craftily. He had always been able to persuade his best friends into doing things they didn't want to do. Mariah sat back in her chair and sighed again. They never knew how he did it.  
  
Out of the corner of his eyes Rei spotted Boris making his way into the arena. He leaned forward to see Kai. Next came Tala followed by Bryan and Spencer. Kai was no where to be seen. Rei sighed and sat back in his chair when Kai came stumbling into the arena.  
  
"Hurry up, baka." Tala called, but Kai ignored him. He stumbled and limped his way over to the bench from which Rei had a perfect view of the damage done to him.  
  
"Wow." Mariah gasped. "I didn't realize that he was so badly beat up."  
  
"You weren't kidding when you said he'd be worse than you." Lee whispered.  
  
Rei wasn't paying attention to them. His full attention was locked on his love. 'How could someone do this to their own flesh and blood?' he wondered to himself, watching as Kai shifted in his seat and wince as he put pressure on the wrong bruise.  
  
The first two matches were won easily by Tala and Bryan and it seemed as if Spencer was going to be called up next when Rei was jarred back to reality by the announcer's voice.  
  
"Next up from the Demolition Boys is Hiwatari Kai."  
  
"He's going to fight?" Lee growled. "That's despicable."  
  
"How can they make him fight?" Mariah added. "Don't they see how much pain he's in? It's inhuman."  
  
"Exactly." Rei whispered. They both turned to him, shocked. "They don't care if he's hurt. They want a win." They turned their attention back to the match. Kai still hadn't moved from his seat and he didn't look like he was ever going to. They watched as Boris walked over to Kai and yell at him.  
  
"Don't make me force you to get in there." He snarled. Kai didn't even act like he heard him. "Fine we'll do it your way." He grabbed Kai by the scarf around his neck, ignoring Kai's yelps of pain, and threw him with all his might into the arena. Kai flew a good few feet and landed in a heap beside the dish. He screamed as he landed on all the wrong spots. The entire crowd gasped and began muttering and it took everything Mariah and Lee had to keep Rei from leaping into the arena and attacking Boris.  
  
Kai lay still for a few moments, which began to scare Rei, before he slowly picked himself up as if nothing had happened. He stood shakily for a few seconds before he readied his launcher. Rei noticed that Kai's hands and arms adorned bloody bandages and were shaking like leaves in the wind.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One! Let it RIP!"  
  
Rei watched anxiously as Kai launched Black Dranzer into the dish. It took a few minutes for the black blade to catch it's bearings but once it had steadied it's rotation it was a matter of seconds before the opposing blade was knocked out of the dish. Black Dranzer leapt back into Kai's hand. Kai nodded grimly before his eyes rolled back into his head and his weak knees gave in. He collapsed to the floor in a dead faint.  
  
"KAI!" Rei shouted, but no one noticed his cry. The crowd had begun to empty out of the stadium, muttering disapprovingly and didn't notice Rei's distress. Only Lee and Mariah were there to notice. Rei once again tried to leap over the railing, but his friends' hands held him back.  
  
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Lee hissed into his ear. "You saw what that bastard did to Kai. What do you think he'll do to you?" Rei backed down slightly, but kept his golden eyes fixed on Kai. He watched Kai's body like a hawk.  
  
Tala stepped up to Kai's body and noticed that he was still awake, but in a terrible amount of pain. He laughed.  
  
"Maybe you should listen next time Hiwatari-sama tells you not to do something." He exclaimed loud enough for Rei, Lee and Mariah to hear. He laughed again and picked Kai up by the arm. He began to drag Kai back to Boris who took Kai from there.  
  
Kai winced at the transfer. He looked up and straight into the worry filled amber eyes of Rei. He noticed that Rei looked badly hurt but was healing fine. He sighed inwardly in relief. He also couldn't help but notice how his face was contorted into a mix of fury and hatred, and for a moment he wondered if it was directed at him. But then he noticed that Lee and Mariah were straining to hold him back and he caught some of their words.  
  
"You can't help him Rei!" Mariah screamed. The boy ignored her. He didn't want to let Kai go back with those monsters.  
  
"Let him go!" He screamed after Boris. Kai was comforted to know that Rei was willing to risk everything to free him. He tried to regain his cold emotionless expression and looked into Rei's eyes one last time.  
  
"Rei." He mouthed before finally allowing himself to pass out from over exertion.  
  
***  
  
Back at the abbey, Kai had woken up a few times and each time was the same. He would wake whispering Rei's name and then cursing himself.  
  
"I can't let him get hurt anymore." He whispered to himself. "I won't let him get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not anymore." He began to become drowsy again and he lay back down to fall into yet another restless, dreamless sleep.  
  
***  
  
Rei, on the other hand, had other things on his mind than sleep. He was back at the hotel and Lee and Mariah had returned to the hotel they were staying at, promising to say hi to Kevin and Gary for him. He was sitting on his bed and listening Takao tell everyone the 'game plan' for the tournament for the next day.  
  
"I saw Kai today." He interrupted Takao.  
  
"Huh?" Max shook the sleep from his eyes. Nobody ever paid attention to Takao's speeches. "Where?"  
  
"He had a match." He answered. Suddenly he had all eyes on him. Takao had told Kenny and Max about what state Kai was in and they couldn't imagine how he could possibly be able to blade. "He looked so horrible. He had cuts and bruises everywhere and his arms were bandaged." His voice began to break.  
  
"We know." Takao said softly, hanging his head. "I saw him this morning."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"They didn't make him battle, did they?" asked Max, trying to take all the attention from Takao.  
  
"Yeah, they did." Rei replied. "He wouldn't get up at first, but Boris walked up to him and yelled something to him before grabbing him by the scarf and throwing him into the arena like a toy. I heard him yelp in pain when he was lifted up, but when he was tossed..." he trailed off. He didn't want to relive it.  
  
"Hey, it's ok." Takao tried to comfort Rei. "You and I both know that Kai can survive anything." His opinion of Kai had changed when he saw Kai's battered form collapse in front of him.  
  
"Then he pulled himself up from the ground." Rei continued. "His hands were shaking so badly when he launched Black Dranzer. He won, and then collapsed. Boris dragged him out of the stadium." He left out Tala's conversation with Kai. He wouldn't go against his word to Kai.  
  
"I wonder if it's possible that since his grandfather hurt Rei, maybe he did that to Kai too." Max exclaimed.  
  
"I doubt that." Rei replied quickly. "Who would hurt their own flesh and blood?" He repeated his thoughts from earlier that day. This seemed to convince them. "Only a monster would do something that horrible." Takao answered, sullenly. 'Only a monster.' Rei agreed silently.  
  
"I'm worn out from today and I need a good night's rest." Rei excused himself from the conversation. "I'm going to go to sleep now." The guys agreed to get some sleep and they walked over to their own beds. Rei rolled to his side and stared blankly at the empty bed beside him. Kai's bed. He knew their relationship would be strained more than ever now.  
  
'Please let Kai be okay.' He thought to anyone who would listen. 'I need him to be okay in order for me to be okay.' He drifted off to sleep, his hand going unconsciously to the bit that hung from his neck.  
  
~Finis  
  
Just in case anyone's wondering, each chapter is more or less one day. That's why this chapter was so long. And I won't be posting another chapter for a while so that I can get a lot of things done (like the eighth chapter and my own original story which probably won't be posted on FF.N and presents still to make and I HAVE NO TIME!!)  
  
Coming up: Chapter 5: Koneko NOKIER  
  
A/N: if you can figure out what this title means then I will give you an honourable mention in the next chapter! 


	5. Koneko NOKIER

Another Word for Strength  
  
Chapter 5: Koneko NOKIER  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Rei woke up feeling a bit better than he had when he drifted off the night before. His wounds were healing properly and a number of bruises had disappeared. He showered and dressed mechanically, allowing his attention to be absorbed by his thoughts and didn't notice when his team mates walked in the door.  
  
"Hey, Rei. You're up late." Takao greeted him cheerfully. "We're going to head downstairs to get breakfast. Want to come?"  
  
"No thanks, Takao." Rei answered dully. "I'm not hungry."  
  
"Ok then." The boys left just as quickly as they came and once again Rei was alone. He felt his knees give out beneath him and half expected to meet the ground with a sharp thud, but instead landed on the soft white sheets of the nearest bed. He would have been fine if it had been any other bed, but he had landed on the one bed he didn't want to. Kai's.  
  
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, he burst into tears. All the stress was beginning to weigh down heavily on his shoulders and both physical and emotional pain seemed like one. He couldn't keep up his façade without having someone to lean back on, and Kai couldn't be that person at the moment, not without personal risk. He knew he couldn't reveal anything to the other guys because everything revolved around the one thing Kai made him promise to keep secret. The only way he could let it all out was to let his emotions take over when the opportunity presented itself. So he lay on the bed until his sobs subsided and he felt he was calm enough to handle everything that was thrown his way.  
  
He walked solemnly to the bathroom and rinsed the dry tears from his cheeks. Just as he was finishing drying off his face with a towel, Mr. Dickenson came in.  
  
"Hello there Rei." He smiled, not aware of what just happened. "I hear that you were very upset at seeing Kai in that match yesterday."  
  
"Yeah." Rei nodded and tossed the towel around his neck. "The funny thing is that I'd have never noticed how painful Kai's injuries were if we hadn't had those talks. If I hadn't known he had been beaten I'd have thought he was having an off day or got hurt by something simple. The make-up was still there, and he acted as if he was perfectly okay. I never noticed how fake it all really was until now." Mr. Dickenson nodded gravely.  
  
"I believe that Kai was such a good actor that he even fooled himself most of the time. He believed that it was normal and so he acted that way."  
  
"I never thought of it that way." Rei admitted.  
  
"Well, enough of depressing matters, I have something for you." Mr. Dickenson brightened up and held out an envelope for Rei. "This came for you this morning."  
  
"Thank you." Rei took the letter and waited till Mr. Dickenson was out of the room before opening it. When he ripped it open he was mildly surprised to recognise Kai's handwriting.  
  
~Rei  
  
I left this at the front desk of your hotel to make sure you got it as soon as you woke up. I'm going to be blunt about this. Stay away from me. If you don't then it won't just be me who gets hurt. I know that you are aware of the fact that my grandfather was behind your attack, and if you want to live until the finals I'd advise you to heed this letter. Since I will now be watched constantly, I probably won't ever see you again. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I appreciate what you did for me over the past few days, but now you need to let me handle everything. There's no place for you in this. It's only between me and the Abbey. Good-bye. ~Kai  
  
Rei was shocked. He realized that even though it sounded like Kai was going to be able to handle everything from that point on, Rei couldn't help but brood over Kai's words. 'I probably won't ever see you again. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine... Good-bye.' It made it seem like Kai was saying goodbye forever... like he'd never see anyone after this. It only made Rei worry more. Kai had made an excuse for his possible disappearance.  
  
"But there's nothing I can do about it." He whispered to himself. Rei now wanted nothing more than to be alone to think, but as it would appear nothing was going his way that day. Takao, Max and Kenny burst into the hotel room.  
  
"Hey Rei!" Max cried cheerfully. "We were looking for you!"  
  
"Yeah." Exclaimed Takao. "We waited downstairs for you to come out, but you didn't show. I know you said you weren't hungry but you didn't even leave the room. Mr. Dickenson told us you were still here so we came up to get you."  
  
"We have to leave for the tournament." Kenny added, explaining why they were looking for him. Max finally noticed the letter in Rei's hands.  
  
"Who's the letter from?" he asked, curiously, drawing attention to the paper.  
  
"It's nothing special." Rei shrugged the question off. "Mr. Dickenson just gave it to me. I'm ready to go now."  
  
He grabbed Drigger from his nightstand and followed the rest of the team downstairs to an awaiting car.  
  
***  
  
Since Rei had thoroughly improved since the last round, the Bladebreakers opted to save him as a wild card. They hoped the other team would think of him as the weak link and believe that beating him would be an easy win.  
  
When Rei's turn came up, he mentally prepared himself for his match. He wanted to win this battle for Kai, even though he knew Kai wasn't there to see. He might still be weak physically, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.  
  
"Three!"  
  
"Two!"  
  
"One! Let it RIP!"  
  
Rei pulled hard and fast on his ripcord and watched as Drigger flew into the dish with amazing speed.  
  
"Go Drigger!" Rei cried as soon as his blade hit the dish. His opponent started to laugh.  
  
"I bet I could beat you with my hands tied and my eyes closed." He sneered, underestimating Rei's power. Rei ignored the comment and focused solely on the dish.  
  
"Let's show this guy what we're made of, Drigger!" Rei yelled to his bit- beast and smiled when his blade glowed in response. Drigger emerged from the blade, larger than ever and radiating with light. The tiger's ferocious growl sent shivers down everyone's spine as it reared in the air. Drigger turned his massive head to look at the puny blade that was threatening it and dove straight for it. With one last roar, he smashed head-on with both the blade and the dish, scattering debris everywhere. The arena was hidden by a large cloud of smoke. When the announcer could finally see the result he was stunned. The dish had been totalled and only one person in the battle was left standing, literally. Drigger's blast had knocked both his opponent and his opponent's blade several feet back and Rei didn't even seem to notice the explosion. His blade was still spinning, as fast as ever, in the very center of it all.  
  
***  
  
In the stands, Kai rose and smiled to himself. He had to admit that Rei had put on quite a spectacular display. He had seen the determination flaring up in his eyes when he walked up to the dish. Although he didn't want to admit it, Kai felt both proud of his friend's accomplishment, and ashamed that Rei was able to stay strong even after he had just been released from the hospital. 'Even Rei was stronger than you.' He said to himself, disgusted. He turned from the stadium when the winner was announced and walked away, limping only slightly.  
  
***  
  
When he returned to the abbey he noticed that his computer was turned on and was flashing a message. He had honestly never noticed it was there until it began to flash. Kenny was usually the one who dealt with computers. He sat down at the computer and realized what the problem was. Supposedly he had mail. He couldn't remember the last time he had used his e-mail. He had just assumed it had been deleted.  
  
After a few minutes of failure he finally remembered his password and checked the inbox. There was one new message.  
  
To: firebird_dranzer@hotmail.com  
  
From: kon_kun@hotmail.com  
  
~Hiya!  
  
No names. Wanna hook up on a chat? BTW I'm not Rei (nn*ww~ please tell me you know what that means) if don't then I'm Kai no Koneko. I hope you haven't forgotten me yet! I can make sure your computer isn't bugged by having the Chief take a look at it from here (with Dizzy).  
  
I'll be in the cat-lover's chat on yahoo.jp at 9:16 pm tonight. To let me know it's you, spell my name backwards from the last letter of my last name to the first letter of my first name.  
  
~Sincerely  
  
Your caring, loving, worried, depressed, anxious friend, but most of all  
  
Love Koneko N.O.K.I.E.R.  
  
~P.S. I'm not letting you go that easily, no matter what you say. I'm too stubborn to do that.  
  
Kai stared at the screen for a few seconds. He didn't understand what half of it meant, but he knew if he sorted through the clues he would recognise it.  
  
'What the hell does nn*ww mean?' he thought to himself. 'Koneko... I've never heard of a girl called Koneko... so that must mean that they mean the name literally... my... kitten... and they know Kenny.' That clue had been the easiest to figure out. 'Friend... I only have the Bladebreakers as friends... wait a second... all those references to cats...'  
  
"NOKIER." He spelled to himself aloud. "R-E-I-K-O-N. Rei's the one who sent this." He finally understood all the hidden meanings to everything. "Nn*ww must mean nudge, nudge, wink, wink." He smiled slightly, realizing that he himself didn't understand half of it so there could be no way for his spying grandfather to know who it was. Rei was smarter than he gave him credit. He checked his watch and saw that it was 9:18 pm and Rei was supposedly in this chat room waiting for him.  
  
He searched around for a while until he spotted the cat-lover's chat room and was stuck for a name to hide himself under. Sighing in frustration, he typed the only thing that came to him and entered the room.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin Has entered chat  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: um... NOKIER.  
  
Neko-jin: Kai? Is that you?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Hn  
  
Neko-jin: I like your screen name. lol  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: well it is a cat-lover's chat.  
  
Neko-jin: cat-lover's not cat-people... LMAO  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: I really don't see what's so funny  
  
Neko-jin: gomen. I was having a moment.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Hn  
  
Neko-jin: I'm surprised you came... I thought you said you didn't want to be involved with me anymore  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Hn  
  
Neko-jin: is that all you say?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Hn  
  
Neko-jin: ...  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: what do you want me to say?  
  
Neko-jin: I dunno, hi Rei, nice to see you, how's the weather?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: what did you want to talk about?  
  
Neko-jin: oh, nothing. I just wanted to talk in general.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Oh, ok.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: I saw your last match  
  
Neko-jin: You did?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: yeah, you were very good. I see you listened to my advice.  
  
Neko-jin: yeah, you were right. I needed to keep my personal life out of the Beystadium  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Hai.  
  
Neko-jin: So did you understand my email alright?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Hai... demo, it was very confusing.  
  
Neko-jin: good, that's the way I wanted it. Oh, and Chief already scanned your computer and all bugging devices are 'out of commission' or that's what he says.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Arigato  
  
Neko-jin: No problem  
  
Neko-jin: Why did you want to stop talking to me?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Did you not read my letter?  
  
Neko-jin: yeah, but I want to hear it from you.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: I wanted to protect you  
  
Neko-jin: well I figured that.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: then why did you ask?  
  
Neko-jin: I didn't mean that sarcastically.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: oh.  
  
Neko-jin: I need to see you.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: why?  
  
Neko-jin: Because I miss you... we all miss you. Couldn't you set up a camera or something?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: It wouldn't be the same if I couldn't see you, too.  
  
Neko-jin: why wouldn't you be able to see me?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: because if my grandfather decided to check up on me and sees that I'm disobeying orders and chatting with you, watashi no Koneko, I'd be in a lot of trouble...  
  
Neko-jin: Oh, I see. Is he there right now?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: no, why?  
  
Neko-jin: it's nothing, just...  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: the nickname?  
  
Neko-jin: yeah  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: you were the one who came up with it.  
  
Neko-jin: I know, it's just...  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: you don't like it?  
  
Neko-jin: I do. When you say it.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Oh. Kai begins to blush  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: what were we talking about before?  
  
Neko-jin: I don't know, I'm too lazy to check.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: oh, ok.  
  
Neko-jin: do you think we can find a way to meet?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: I don't know, but I swear to try to think of everything I can to find a way to meet again. 'I miss the way you hugged me, like it was all that mattered.' Kai thought to himself.  
  
Neko-jin: I think I'm just a little bit tired. It's been a long day  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: ok  
  
Neko-jin: oyasuminasai  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: goodnight, watashi no koneko  
  
Neko-jin: ^__^  
  
Neko-jin Has left chat  
  
***  
  
Rei grinned sleepily as he signed out. He hadn't thought Kai would really show up in the chat room, but he had and they had talked for well over an hour and a half. He turned off the computer and walked silently to the Bladebreakers's bedroom. Sliding into bed, he was out seconds after his head hit the pillow. But not before thinking one last thought.  
  
"Kai no Koneko." He murmured to himself. "I'm really his." He grinned happily and fell fast asleep.  
  
~Finis  
  
I never thought I could make an ending work... not with what I had written in my notebook:  
  
"Rei falls asleep thinking about being Koneko." It's kinda hard to end it like that. I guess I pulled it off... hopefully.  
  
I also had to go back over this and fix some things because (stupidly enough) I didn't get the whole meaning of Koneko properly (assumptions aren't very good things) and I had to find a way to get the right meaning across and keep it in-character.  
  
HONOURARY MENTION!! To Kai Hiwatari who (easily) got the meaning of Koneko (even when I didn't, I thought it was MY kitty... this person made me double check my dictionary and fix the story) but no one guessed the meaning of NOKIER.  
  
I can't help but mention Sedi whose guess was the funniest I have ever heard!  
  
And thank you to Rei, Oliver, and Kai r da bomb who was the first one to read this chapie! Thanks a lot for the feedback. I never realised that NOKIER was so hard to figure out... oh well.  
  
Coming up Chapter 6: Back-Fired 


	6. BackFired

You know, when I was on chapter seven of the outline and I couldn't believe I got writer's block on one of the most climactical sections (wow, I actually got that out without a red squiggly line appearing underneath it) of the entire story (a little confrontation between Rei and Kai... yelling, throwing people against walls, and one stubborn Chinese boy who won't answer a stupid little question... ). Eventually I got sorted through it, but it took me so long to straighten it out. Stupid, stubborn Chinese boys...  
  
Another Word for Strength  
  
Chapter 6: Back-Fired  
  
***  
  
"Kai!!" an angry voice pierced through the grey morning. "Open up, right now!"  
  
Kai stumbled out of bed, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and opened his door to come face to face with his very upset grandfather.  
  
"How dare you take out my surveillance system!" he yelled at the half-awake boy. Kai yawned, disinterested in what his grandfather had to say.  
  
"I need my privacy." He said quietly, before shutting the door. Hiwatari- sama's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected Kai to do something so bold when he was obviously extremely pissed off. He thought about banging on the door again, but decided against it. He walked back to his office to find Boris waiting for him.  
  
He opened the door and walked in, Boris following silently.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, sitting behind his desk and finally acknowledging the other man's presence.  
  
"I have just received word that the Bladebreakers have advanced to the finals." Boris informed Voltaire.  
  
"Didn't they still have one more match before the finals?"  
  
"Hai, but the leader of the other team became sick and since they didn't have enough players they were forced to forfeit."  
  
"Ah." Voltaire nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"You know, maybe we could benefit from Kai's friendship with the Bladebreakers." Boris offered.  
  
"What do you mean?" Voltaire looked curiously at him. "What were you thinking?"  
  
"Well, Kai could be able to get all of their training secrets for us."  
  
"That's a very good idea, Boris." Hiwatari-sama grinned. "The best one I've heard so far." Boris bowed in gratitude. Voltaire nodded, and Boris left the room.  
  
"I'll talk to Kai later about this."  
  
***  
  
After his little wake-up chat with his grandfather, Kai splashed his face with water to wake himself up. He decided he wasn't going to stick around to find out why his grandfather hadn't retaliated when he'd slammed the door in his face. He left the abbey and headed towards the park.  
  
As he walked he overheard quite a few people using the practice dished to train. His eyes scanned the bladers until they rested on a familiar four. The Bladebreakers were off to the side near a cluster of trees and it seemed like no one had noticed who they were. Not caring whether his grandfather saw or not, Kai walked along the row of trees and pulled himself into one so he could watch them practice. At the moment, Max and Takao were battling, Kenny was gathering their statistics and Rei sat opposite him, lying against a tree.  
  
He sat down on one of the lower branches and made himself comfortable.  
  
***  
  
Rei yawned for the third time that day. He was extremely bored and didn't really feel like practicing. The others had wanted to go out and find a practice dish so they could blade for fun and he had been dragged along. He scanned the area that they had chosen. Hardly anyone was over in their direction. Most of the bladers wanted attention drawn to their skills so they were all blading in the open where their skills would be noticed.  
  
He would have gone back to sleep if a long white scarf hadn't caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. It was hanging from a tree on the other side of their dish. He strained to look beneath the leaves and saw someone sitting in the tree. He only knew of one person who owned that scarf. He began to smile and looked closer. His eyes locked with dark crimson ones and his smile turned into a grin. He couldn't believe that Kai had found a way to see him. Just like he had promised.  
  
"Hey Rei." Kenny called. "What are you smiling for?" Rei ignored him. Kenny shrugged and drew his attention back to Max and Takao's match. Rei kept his gaze locked on the spot where Kai was.  
  
A few minutes later Max had won and he began to dance around the dish.  
  
"I let you win." Takao grumbled.  
  
"Yeah sure." Max didn't believe him for a second. Takao was always a sore loser. "Rei it's your turn." He called up, but Rei's attention was elsewhere.  
  
"Rei!" Takao called. No response. He grabbed Max's hand and pulled him up to Rei and they began to wave their hands in front of his face.  
  
"Oh!" Rei cried, snapping out of his daze. "Gomen." He stood up and followed Max to the dish. They readied their launchers and waited for Kenny to count them down.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One. Let it rip."  
  
They pulled their ripcords hard and unleashed their blades. 'Concentrate on the battle.' Rei told himself, trying to push away the image of Kai from his mind.  
  
"Tiger claw attack!" he called. Within seconds Max's blade found itself imbedded in the tree right beside Takao's head.  
  
"That could have hit me!" he cried out.  
  
"That was a great battle!" Kenny exclaimed, closing his laptop.  
  
"Yup, you're the new Master of Beyblading!" Max declared. Rei smiled at his friends and looked in Kai's direction. He noticed that he had jumped down from his branch and was looking steadily at him. He winked at Kai in return.  
  
Kai nodded his head in acknowledgement and walked away before the others even knew he had been there. Rei's smile broadened as he reminded himself that Kai had stayed just to watch him blade.  
  
***  
  
Kai left the practice area after witnessing Rei's remarkable win. He went back to the abbey, only to be greeted by one of the guards.  
  
"Hiwatari-sama requests your presence." Kai rolled his eyes. His grandfather never requested anything of him. He usually demanded it. He said nothing as the guard led him to the office where his grandfather waited.  
  
When they got there, Voltaire was still sitting behind his large desk. He looked up when the door opened and motioned Kai to sit. Kai remained standing in rebellion.  
  
"What do you want?" he asked, not even waiting for the guard to leave. Hiwatari-sama nodded his dismissal to the guard before turning to Kai.  
  
"I was watching you today and I saw you watching over the Bladebreakers' practice." He smiled to his grandson, giving him an edgy feeling. "It gave me an idea."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"Like one that would include a compromise on both sides."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kai spat. He really didn't like where this was headed.  
  
"You can hang out with your Bladebreaker friends in return for gathering information on their skills as Beybladers for me." Kai growled. He didn't want to be a spy especially if it would only help his grandfather.  
  
"I'll try." He replied. "But I can't make any guarantees." He stood and left the office without a backwards glance.  
  
***  
  
When the Bladebreakers had finished their practicing they returned to the hotel to find Mr. Dickenson waiting for them.  
  
"Why, hello there!" he greeted them cheerfully. "I was waiting for you. I have some great news that I'm sure will make you all very happy."  
  
"What is it?" Takao asked, not being one who liked being kept in suspense. "Come on! Tell us!"  
  
"Well I've just got news that the team you were supposed to face has dropped out of the tournament. Their leader got sick and they had to forfeit. This means that you four will be headed for the finals on Friday." Mr. Dickenson smiled.  
  
"Yay!" they all cheered.  
  
"We're going to the finals!" Takao began to sing as he grabbed Max's hands and danced around the room. Everyone laughed.  
  
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Mr. Dickenson walked over and opened it, revealing a sight no one had expected.  
  
"Congratulations on making it to the finals." Kai said expressionlessly. Everyone stopped celebrating and stared in shock.  
  
"T-Thanks." Takao stammered, breaking the silence.  
  
"May I speak to Rei alone for a second?" Kai asked, looking into Rei's eyes. The Chinese boy's eyes widened. 'Wouldn't he get into trouble for visiting us?' he thought to himself.  
  
"Sure." He replied and looked to the others. "I'll be right back." He told them and followed Kai outside the hotel.  
  
"So what did you want to speak to me about?" Rei asked when they had reached outdoors.  
  
"My grandfather wants me to spy on you guys." Kai stated flat out. "He wants me to learn your secrets because he can't figure out your strategies."  
  
"Why can't he figure that out?" Rei asked quietly.  
  
"All those satellites are useless when you can't hear a thing." Kai smirked. That was the reason he had brought Rei outside. "That means he can't hear any of your training sessions."  
  
"But why are you telling me this?" Rei tilted his head slightly.  
  
"Because I can trust you not to tell anyone else. And I know you can help me make this plan back-fire in my grandfather's face."  
  
"Aren't grandfathers supposed to be the nice relatives?" Rei smiled. Kai snorted.  
  
"Not in my family."  
  
"I promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone." Rei swore and pulled Kai into a tight embrace. Kai was surprised at this, but remembered that his grandfather couldn't punish him for this. He was, after all, 'trying' to befriend them all again. He smiled and wrapped his arms around Rei. They stayed like this for a few minutes before they stepped back and walked back to the hotel.  
  
***  
  
"So what is he really doing here?" Takao asked when they came back into the room. Mr. Dickenson had left earlier, allowing them the opportunity to celebrate on their own.  
  
"He's trying to start over with us." Rei replied. Takao looked like he was about to laugh, but a sharp glare from Kenny halted the giggle. "He's not back on the team though, that would be too quick."  
  
Kai stayed in the hotel for a bit, watching the Bladebreakers from a short distance, like he usually did. His attention, however, was often caught on one specific blader. He watched Rei intently, as if studying his features for a future test. He barely paid any attention to their conversations, but he noticed that whenever Takao began to talk about training Rei would remind him not to give away any secrets and laugh. He was beginning to become addicted to that laugh, a thought that caught him off-guard. He was finally starting to seriously admit to himself that he was deeply attracted to Rei. He refused to admit to anything further, just in case someone other than his grandfather found out. He hadn't really thought about his feelings towards Rei until that moment. Not even when his grandfather brought them up. All he could think about was saving his friends from Voltaire's punishments.  
  
When Kai had finally had enough of staring at Rei he cleared his throat, drawing attention to him.  
  
"I guess I better be going back to the abbey now." He said quietly, avoiding Rei's eyes.  
  
"Thank you for letting me stay." He couldn't really think of anything more to stall his departure, so he walked towards the door.  
  
"Hey, let me walk you back." Rei called out and stood up. Kai froze and turned around. Rei was already getting his coat.  
  
"Thanks." Kai nodded sheepishly. They left the hotel room and headed to the elevator.  
  
"Will you be visiting again?" Rei asked when the elevator doors opened. They got in and Kai hung his head.  
  
"I don't know." He replied sullenly. "My grandfather won't be too pleased when I get back." Rei smiled proudly when Kai looked up at him.  
  
***  
  
Nothing more was said until they reached the gates of the abbey. No guards were around so Rei boldly grabbed Kai in a tight embrace.  
  
"You're not alone." He whispered into Kai's ear. "I care very much what happens to you." Kai shuddered. That's when Rei realised that they were both shivering, but whether it was from the cold or the nearness he couldn't be sure.  
  
Kai clung to Rei tightly as if the world would end if he let go. He rested his head on Rei's shoulder and stood there in momentary bliss until he felt he had to let go. He stepped back but didn't leave Rei's arms. He wasn't aware that Rei had never hugged any of his other friends with the exception of Lee and Mariah of the White Tigers.  
  
"Am I going to get to see Koneko online tonight?" he asked softly, looking into Rei's eyes.  
  
"Of course." Rei replied, blushing slightly. The darkness sucked away the colour before Kai took notice of it. Rei reluctantly let go of him and stepped back.  
  
"I guess I better go now." Kai looked to his feet and backed away slowly. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and slid through the gates.  
  
"Good night." Rei whispered after him, watching him disappear into the shadows, before turning and walking back to the hotel.  
  
***  
  
When Kai entered his room his grandfather was waiting for him and he looked furious. Kai rolled his eyes, unafraid. It was when you couldn't see his emotions that you had to start worrying.  
  
"You did that on purpose!" Voltaire screamed as Kai sat down on his bed and removed his shoes. "You intentionally made sure you let those boys know you were on the Russian team."  
  
"I had to." Kai stated.  
  
"No, you didn't have to." Voltaire retorted. "You said that so they wouldn't give you information."  
  
"Actually if I hadn't told them that then they'd have been suspicious if I played for the Demolition Boys in the next match." He replied coolly. He knew he was right and sooner or later his grandfather would see that too.  
  
"You think you're so smart, boy." Voltaire grumbled under his breath before storming out of the room. He didn't want Kai to know he was right. Kai smirked and went to his computer.  
  
Almost without thinking, he signed on to his e-mail and went directly to the cat-lovers chat to wait for Rei.  
  
He waited for ten minutes before he recognised Rei's screen name.  
  
Neko-jin Has entered chat  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: NOKIER?  
  
Neko-jin: Hai. Were you waiting for me?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: no, I just got on.  
  
Neko-jin: You kept your name!  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: yeah, it fits.  
  
Neko-jin: it does?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: well I do like cats.  
  
Neko-jin: but your name means cat-people. I told you that before  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: does it matter?  
  
Neko-jin: I guess not.  
  
Neko-jin: so, What happened with you and your grandfather?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: he yelled at me then walked out when I proved him wrong  
  
Neko-jin: lol  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: I'm sure he won't bother me for a while  
  
Neko-jin: that's good  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: did you check my computer again? For bugs?  
  
Neko-jin: yup. You're computer is free and clean.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: thanks  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: I really am glad about you guys making it all the way to the finals  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Rei?  
  
Neko-jin: Hello, KNJ, my name's Chief and Rei has unfortunately passed out on the computer.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Is he ok?  
  
Neko-jin: yeah, he's just tired. I'm going to get him to bed and log off.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: ok goodnight Kenny  
  
Neko-jin: do I know you?  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: I think that's for Rei-chan to tell.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin has signed off  
  
~Finis  
  
The end... for now. Now I get to type up the best chapter! This is the one where Rei is slammed up against a wall and gets up close and personal with Kai. Oh, and he finds out a tiny little thing about his parents which becomes a big thing.  
  
Also I want you all to know that I finished typing up chapter nine and I'm thinking about a sequel, but I haven't started to write anything down yet. I'm also working on another Kai/Rei story with a lot more mushy romance in it.  
  
Chapter 7: Mr. and Mrs. Kon  
  
Preview (because I love teasing my reviewers):  
  
"What the fuck is going on?" he repeated, his voice dangerously low. Rei struggled against Kai's grip but said nothing.  
  
"Tell me what the hell is wrong." Rei avoided his eyes and turned his head away from Kai.  
  
"Nothing." He whispered, knowing full well Kai wasn't going to accept that as an answer.  
  
"You have never run from me." Kai stated. "Ever. Now tell me what you're hiding." He pushed Rei against the wall even tighter and Rei winced as his wrists began to hurt from Kai's grip. He looked into Kai's eyes, but said nothing...  
  
That's it! You'll get no more out of me until I see some more reviews! What is Rei hiding from Kai? Hmm... 


	7. Mr and Mrs Kon

I'm not entirely sure about Russia or Japan, so I'm putting the age that you can live without a guardian as 18. That's what it is here in Canada.  
  
Another Word for Strength  
  
Chapter 7: Mr. and Mrs. Kon  
  
When morning came, the Bladebreakers were woken up suddenly by Mr. Dickenson. He tore back the blinds and shook each of them awake, purposely avoiding Takao.  
  
"Come on, sleepy heads." He called cheerfully, standing at the foot of their beds. "I have some more good news!" he waited for the three of them to wake up. He'd let them deal with waking Takao up later.  
  
"What is it, Mr. Dickenson?" Rei asked, being the first one to be fully awake.  
  
"I need to talk with you outside first." Mr. Dickenson winked and led the tired boy outside.  
  
"What is it?" Rei asked when the door was shut behind him. Mr. Dickenson seemed to be practically beaming at the news he held.  
  
"I have just been informed that your parents will be arriving for the finals." He said. "Not your surrogate parents, but your birth parents. They are going to come to see your final match and take you home with them." Mr. Dickenson exclaimed. Rei stood still. He was in shock.  
  
Mr. Dickenson didn't give Rei a chance to sort things out before he was pushed back into the hotel room and the others were told. While they whooped and cheered like Mr. Dickenson expected him to do, Rei just stood there with his mouth open. He didn't want his parents to come. He didn't want anything to do with them in fact, but he didn't want to dampen the mood so he remained quiet.  
  
He remembered when he had told Kai about his parents, that they were only after money, so he assumed that's what they were coming for. They would stake a claim to some of his winnings just until they had enough and then send him back into the streets with no way to get back to his friends. He shuddered. He didn't like what his future looked like so he tried to direct his thoughts back to the hotel room.  
  
"When are they going to get here?" he asked Mr. Dickenson.  
  
"I believe I was told they would be arriving just before your match."  
  
"This is great!" Takao cried. While Rei and Mr. Dickenson were in the halls talking the others set about the task of waking Takao up for this news. "You get to celebrate our win with your whole family! And then you get to go back to a home. It's like a fairy tale." If Takao had known what Rei had told Kai, he wouldn't have thought Rei's ending was much of a fairy tale after all. Rei shrugged Takao's praise off and changed the subject.  
  
"We still have to win the final round first." He stated. No one noticed his attitude towards the news of his parents. "We have to do a lot of training or else we'll lose."  
  
"That's right, boys." Mr. Dickenson piped up. "Whoever you'll end up facing will be very tough to have made it so far. I suggest you start thinking of practicing sometime today.  
  
"Let's get ready, go downstairs for breakfast and head out to that dish we were at yesterday." Max offered. Everyone agreed and Mr. Dickenson left in order for them to get ready. They had a lot of practicing to do that day.  
  
***  
  
Although the pressure of the finals was pressing on his brain, Rei couldn't shake out of the funk he had been put into by the news of his parents' intentions. He hadn't felt much like blading but practiced with his team mates anyways, even though his heart and soul were elsewhere. They had bladed for a few hours, perfecting their aim, speed and agility and when Takao noticed it was nearly 5:00 pm they all parted ways each having their own thing to do. Max wanted to show Takao some things he had seen the day before in a shop window, and Kenny claimed he had wanted to check out the stadium to get an idea of a few dish types they might be facing. Rei had absolutely nothing to do so he found himself wandering back to the hotel alone.  
  
And that's the way he wanted it. He didn't want to deal with anyone and certainly wanted to avoid any possible mention of his parents' visit.  
  
He wandered into the hotel room and sat down at the computer. He signed on and began to search for some form of solitaire that would draw his attention from his own self-pity. He unknowingly found himself in the chat room where he and Kai met the past couple of times and stumbled on Koishiteru, Neko-jin. Apparently Kai had nothing better to do than surf the net.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Hey Rei.  
  
Neko-jin: I'm sorry Kai, but I'm not really in the mood to talk with you right now.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: what's wrong?  
  
Neko-jin: nothing's wrong. I just don't want to talk.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: but you always liked to talk with me.  
  
Neko-jin: look, I don't feel like talking so just drop it. Rei was getting annoyed. 'Can't Kai just mind his own business for once?' He thought to himself.  
  
Koishiteru, Neko-jin: Why won't you talk to me Rei? You should know by now that you can talk to me.  
  
Neko-jin: Just go away! I said I don't want to talk about it. Rei blocked Kai's messages from then on and renewed his search for games.  
  
Not twenty minutes later Rei heard a knock at the door. By then he had already given up on the computer, slammed his fist into the wall (not breaking through it, but knowing his hand would hurt like hell the next day) and was lying on his bed, his head devoid of any thoughts. Takao and the others had returned to ask if he had wanted to go out for food and to check out this boy's built-in beystadium, but they had found him curled up, asleep. So they had left him a note and walked back out.  
  
He pulled himself up off of the bed and walked to the door. He assumed it was Takao and Max who frequently left their key behind. He unlatched the door and opened it, revealing the one person he least expected.  
  
Kai.  
  
At once he knew that Kai was there to find out why he had been blocked and tried to slam the door shut. Kai, however, had anticipated this and shot his foot in the way before the door could close properly. Rei panicked at this and tried to push his weight against the door to force Kai out. But Kai was much stronger and he leaned into the door, forcing it open. Rei stumbled back.  
  
"Rei, what the hell is going on?!" he yelled, closing the door behind him. Rei withered under his stare until an idea came to him. He bolted towards the bathroom, Kai right behind him, and tried his best again to keep Kai from getting through the door.  
  
Kai pushed that door open, too, and while kicking it closed with his foot he slammed Rei up against the wall.  
  
"What the fuck is going on?" he repeated, his voice dangerously low. Rei struggled against Kai's grip but said nothing. Kai had Rei's hands pinned next to his head and was leaning his body in very close. Had Rei not been trying to avoid looking at him, he would have been more than aroused at the nearness of Kai's body. Kai pressed Rei harder into the wall at his lack of response and asked again.  
  
"Tell me what the hell is wrong." Rei avoided his eyes and turned his head away from Kai.  
  
"Nothing." He whispered, knowing full well Kai wasn't going to accept that as an answer.  
  
"You have never run from me." Kai stated. "Ever. Now tell me what you're hiding." He pushed Rei against the wall even tighter and Rei winced as his wrists began to hurt from Kai's grip. He looked into Kai's eyes, but said nothing.  
  
Even though they didn't notice it, their bodies began to notice their proximity and they both began to feel the heat emanating from the other. Kai stepped closer so that his body was pressed against Rei's and he vaguely noticed that his breathing had become husky and shallow. He leaned in, closed his eyes and felt his lips touch Rei's burning skin.  
  
"Please tell me." He whispered, his lips moving against Rei's earlobe. He kept his eyes closed as he leaned back and felt Rei struggle again. He sighed and gave up. There was no use trying to coax it out of him, he was too stubborn. He let go of Rei's wrists and was stunned when he felt Rei launch himself into Kai's arms.  
  
He tore his eyes open and looked down at the mess of black hair that was fixed to his shoulder. Rei's arms were locked around Kai's neck and he was as close to Rei as they could get with clothes on. He grinned at being able to break the boy and closed his eyes, absentmindedly stroking Rei's back.  
  
His other hand found its way to the base of Rei's head, just where his wrap began, and it began unravelling the boy's long silky hair. Once they were free of their prison, Kai moved his hand through his hair, holding him close to him. That was when he noticed that Rei was shaking.  
  
"What is it?" he asked harshly. Even thought his body might be comforting Rei, his voice was far from soothing. He felt Rei lift his head ever so slightly and whisper his reply into his ear.  
  
"My parent's are coming to take me back." He said, his voice about to break. Kai remembered exactly what he had been told about Mr. and Mrs. Kon and he thought they were the foulest people on the earth... second to his grandfather, of course.  
  
"You aren't seriously thinking about going with them are you?" he asked, pulling Rei back so he could look into his eyes.  
  
"Iie." Rei answered.  
  
"So then what's upsetting you?" he asked, knowing the arrival couldn't be the root of his problem.  
  
"I'm afraid that they'll make a fuss over it and take it to courts. I'm not 18 yet so they can still get custody." He voice barely above a whisper.  
  
"You don't want attention drawn to you." Kai understood.  
  
"Right." Rei nodded. "The others will make a lot of commotion over my decision because they don't know what the whole thing is about. They don't know what you know." Rei bowed his head. Kai lowered his eyes too. They needed to sit down, and a bathroom was no place to talk about things like this. He took Rei's hand and led him to the bedroom. Rei lay down, face up, on his bed and Kai sat on the edge of what was supposed to be his. He looked at Rei who had brought his hands to twine together and rest on his chest. He looked every bit the part of a psychiatrist's patient.  
  
"They'd want to know why you refuse to go with them. Whether you like it or not, they're going to find out, unless you go with your parents." Rei sighed deeply, acknowledging Kai's words.  
  
"Then maybe that would be better." He said solemnly. Kai's eyes widened.  
  
"What?! You can't sacrifice your happiness to keep your secrets hidden." He exclaimed. Rei rolled over and looked into Kai's face. His expression was dull and lifeless. It made Kai shudder.  
  
"Well, I'd only be following your example." Rei retorted. His reply stung a bit and Kai involuntarily flinched. He knew Rei was right, but this was the way he had been taught. He stayed quiet for a few moments, in silent contemplation.  
  
"Why am I the only one who knows about your parents?" he asked after a few minutes. Rei blinked in mild surprise.  
  
"Because you asked." He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"No, I didn't." Kai shook his head, remembering clearly their conversation that night. "I asked about your past. Are you telling me that if the Bladebreakers asked you, you'd tell them what you told me?"  
  
"No." Rei didn't even hesitate in his answer. Kai cocked an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Then what makes me so special?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. Rei rolled his eyes.  
  
"You mean other than the obvious?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You're... you can keep a secret." Rei answered.  
  
"Takao wouldn't just blab this to anyone, and the others are just as, if not, more trustworthy than him." Kai retorted, wanting to find the real reason for Rei's trust in him.  
  
"I know, I know." He replied and rolled over onto his other side.  
  
"So, then, what's the real reason?" he prodded. He heard Rei sigh again.  
  
"I guess it's just that I feel that I can tell you things. That you're easier to talk to." Rei was glad his back was to Kai and he couldn't see the blush creeping up his cheeks.  
  
"Me?" Kai was astonished. He hadn't thought he'd ever be described as 'easy to talk to'.  
  
"Hai." Rei nodded. When his blush was controlled he rolled back over to face Kai and sat up. "Underneath it all you aren't as cold as others think. I would trust you with my life." He said fiercely and his gaze burned deep into Kai's.  
  
"You already have." Kai said and lowered his head. Rei smiled and stood from his bed.  
  
"Yup, and I'm still here." He sat beside Kai and hugged him again. Kai smiled at his friend's attempt to shift his guilt. He almost laughed when he realised it had worked. He wrapped his arms around Rei and whispered his thanks.  
  
"I came here to help you and you end up helping me." He found that thought amusing.  
  
"Yeah." Rei grinned, too. "Funny how those things work out."  
  
"So where's everyone else?" Kai asked, finally noticing the empty apartment. Rei shrugged and picked up the note he had found. He gave it to Kai for inspection. It read:  
  
~Out. Won't be back till noon.~  
  
Neither of them could decipher Takao's meaning so they ignored it.  
  
"Do you want to watch some TV?" Rei asked, standing from the bed. Kai shrugged and followed. He smiled watching Rei's hair flow in silky waves over his shoulders and almost reach the floor. They crashed on the couch and Kai channel surfed until he felt a light weight on his shoulder. He turned slightly and noticed that Rei had fallen fast asleep and was leaning on his shoulder. He smiled to himself and brushed a strand of hair out of Rei's face before placing a small kiss on top of his forehead.  
  
"Oyasuminasai, Kai no koneko." He whispered.  
  
~Finis  
  
And the crowd goes "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" lol  
  
Ok... two more chapters to go and then the story says buh baiz.  
  
Chapter 8: Cassette By the way, I'm gonna put a few meanings at the bottom of this chappie so those who don't know Japanese can understand some stuff.  
  
Oyasuminasai= Good night  
  
Kai no= belongs to Kai  
  
Koneko= Kitten  
  
Iie= No  
  
Hai= Yes  
  
Hn (In Kai's silly little language)=Yes (in most cases)  
  
Aa (If I ever use it)= Yes  
  
Kuso= Shit  
  
Please review or e-mail me (firebird_dranzer@hotmail.com) one of my many. If you want to chat or just send a review that's fine. 


	8. Cassette

This is the second last chapter!! I had StormRider-ShadowWolf and Rei, Oliver, and Kai r da bomb read this chappie over to make sure it was 'post- able' and Rei, Oliver, and Kai r da bomb also read the ninth and final chapter to make sure it was good. I'm a sucker when it comes to giving out chappies ahead of time... if you ask me, I'll give you.  
  
Another Word for Strength  
  
Chapter 8: Cassette  
  
***  
  
Rei rolled over, throwing his arms around the nearest thing, a pillow. The sunlight shone through the window and straight into his face, causing him to groan out loud. He rolled over again, this time with the pillow still firmly held in his grip and tried to keep on sleeping. It didn't work. He cursed the sun as he sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned.  
  
'Wait a second.' He thought suddenly as he glanced at his surroundings. He was in his room and wrapped snugly around him was his plain white bed sheets. 'I thought I had fallen asleep on the couch beside Kai.' He remembered what had happened last night. He yawned again and climbed out of bed to see if Kai was still around.  
  
He checked the living room first and found nothing. He sighed in disappointment and returned to the bedroom, finally noticing another note beside the one Takao had left.  
  
~I didn't know if you wanted me to stay~  
  
Rei sighed and dropped the note back onto the table.  
  
"Of course I wanted you to stay." He said to himself and turned to go back to the living room. He looked up for a second and found himself face to face with Kai who was leaning against the door frame with his face free of face paint and a damp towel draped over one shoulder.  
  
"I'm glad." He smirked, knowing that was the last thing Rei expected.  
  
"Why are you-" Rei trailed off. "I thought you... the note said... I thought..." but Rei was at a loss for words. He looked back to the note and read it over again.  
  
"I never wrote that I had left." Kai walked up to him and placed the towel on a chair to dry. "Just that I didn't know if you wanted me to stay or not." He grinned. Rei was making fish faces with his mouth and still staring at him in shock.  
  
Giving up on speech, Rei sat down (more like collapsed) on the bed, still staring at Kai.  
  
"Is the room bugged?" Kai asked, sitting down on the bed just opposite of Rei.  
  
"Dizzy disables all the bugs in the room." Rei answered, finally having found his voice.  
  
"Good, then. My grandfather must have thought it best if I kept up the charade." Rei tilted his head slightly and cocked an eyebrow at this, giving Kai a quizzical look.  
  
"Huh?" he asked.  
  
"My grandfather didn't send men for me last night. The Demolition Boys might be suspected of spying on you guys if he tried to take me away and have me act as if I had never come seeking peace." Kai explained this to Rei. "The Bladebreakers are untouchable, now that you've made it to the finals, and the Demolition Boys would be the first suspects if anything happened." Rei nodded. He looked down at his hands and began to fidget. Kai looked him over for a moment before realizing that Rei was affected by the uncomfortable silence that had descended upon them.  
  
"I was thinking," he started. Rei looked up and grinned.  
  
"Had to happen sooner or later." He kidded. Kai snorted at the joke.  
  
"What are you doing today?" he asked, not bothering to make a snide comeback.  
  
"Well, since Takao and the others are out until lunch time I don't have much to do." Rei replied, wondering what was on the other boy's mind.  
  
"Do you want to have a quick Beyblade match?" Kai asked. Rei grinned again and nodded.  
  
"Sure." He agreed. "But please don't use Black Dranzer. He scares me a bit." Kai's eyes widened at the confession, but nodded.  
  
"Deal. I don't want to use him anyways. He's much too destructive." Rei leaned over to the nightstand and picked up Kai's old blade. He handed it over. Kai looked it over, as one stares at a friend they haven't seen in decades, and noticed that it had something missing. He then remembered that Rei was keeping Dranzer safely tied around his neck.  
  
"Do you think I could use Dranzer's bit?" he asked, startling Rei. He had forgotten about the bit that Kai had allowed him to keep.  
  
He quickly pulled the string from his neck and placed the bit in its master's hand. It glowed in recognition and Kai smiled.  
  
"Good to see you too, girl." He grinned.  
  
***  
  
After a quick continental breakfast, they went out to the park and found an unoccupied dish to stage their friendly battle. They got into their stances and Rei counted down.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One! Let it RIP!" they let loose their blades simultaneously. A crowd began to gather as Kai called forth his bit-beast.  
  
"Let's get them Dranzer!" he cried. Dranzer immediately rose from her blade and engulfed Kai in an enormous red glow.  
  
"I'm sorry I ditched you for Black Dranzer." He whispered to the fire bird. "I wanted the power at first, but now I'm blading with him because I have to protect Rei and the other Bladebreakers from my grandfather. You remember what he was like with me. Imagine what he'll be like with someone who isn't his own flesh and blood. When I find a way to get away from him, I promise I'll come back to you." Dranzer crowed in understanding and flew back to the battle. Rei had understood that they needed to talk things over for a minute, and refrained from attacking. The crowd around their dish was immense as everyone in the practice area had seen the enormous red glow and came to see what it was.  
  
"Get her Drigger!" Rei yelled, sensing that their conversation was over. His blade glowed green and his bit-breast came out, too. The phoenix flew straight at the tiger, but Drigger dodged her attack. He began to sprint around the dish and smirked when Dranzer began to chase him. Rei began to laugh, when he saw the same frustrated look on both Kai and Dranzer's faces.  
  
"This isn't fair." Kai whined, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Attack him, Dranzer!"  
  
"Not so fast." Rei called. "Tiger claw attack!"  
  
Drigger turned around and began to run straight at the other bit-beast. They both let out a ferocious cry and collided in a large burst of light. Both bladers were thrown back onto their buts and both blades landed at their feet. They looked at each other and grinned. Kai stood up first and walked over to Rei. He offered a hand to him, offering a genuine smile. Rei accepted his hand and dusted himself off. The crowd cheered, as if it had been a tournament match.  
  
"Nice win." Kai remarked, walking back to his blade.  
  
"I didn't win." Rei retorted, placing his hands on his hips. "We tied."  
  
"No, in my mind, you won that match fair and square." Kai turned and chucked his blade at Rei. "I've got to go. I saw some unwanted spectators. Thanks for letting me borrow Dranzer." The crowd gasped, believing Rei was the owner of both bit-beasts. Kai disappeared into the crowd, just as the Bladebreakers pushed their way through.  
  
"What's going on?" Takao asked Rei. Rei was still grinning when he noticed his friends.  
  
"Oh, nothing." He replied. "Just a beybattle."  
  
"What's everybody talking about?" Kenny asked, referring to the dispersing crowd's whispering. "Everyone's saying you're the strongest Beyblader around. Their saying you can control two bit-beasts."  
  
"Really?" Rei asked, mildly surprised.  
  
"What do they mean by that?" Max asked.  
  
"I guess they mean because I am currently in possession of Dranzer and they saw me battle against her." Rei explained, pulling Dranzer-s bit from the blade and returning it to its spot around his neck. It glowed faintly before being shoved beneath his robes.  
  
"Wait, you fought against Dranzer?" Takao called out as Rei began to walk back to the hotel. "But how?" Rei smirked but kept walking. 'Let them figure out how I did it.'  
  
***  
  
Kai entered the arena minutes before his match to find the Demolition Boys and Boris waiting for him.  
  
"You know, I saw that Chinese boy here at the stadium on Sunday. He looked very upset at your condition." Tala taunted Kai. Kai ignored him and sat on the edge of the bench, waiting for the announcer to begin the match.  
  
"He seems to really be attached to you, ne?" he continued. Kai shot a glare down the bench at him and continued to ignore his stupid comments. The announcer's voice sounded throughout the stadium and Tala stepped up to the dish, looking back at Kai, grinning snidely.  
  
***  
  
Although Tala had made easy work of the first opponent, the Demolition Boys had narrowly escaped defeat. Spencer had lost the second match and if Kai hadn't snapped out of his thoughts before it was too late, they would have lost. Everyone got the rest of the day off except Kai, who was forced to do extra work in return for almost costing the Russian team the win. In Boris' mind he was the only one to blame.  
  
"If you had kept your mind focused on Beyblading then we would have won easily." Boris snapped when he dumped a bucked of soapy water and a cloth into Kai's hands.  
  
"You will scrub every inch of this abbey until it's sparkling clean. And when you are finished, you will go to the training dish and practice until I think you are done." He sneered at Kai before turning and walking out, leaving Kai to realise just how big the abbey really was.  
  
***  
  
Back in the hotel, Max and Takao had busied themselves with a few games of Go Fish and Kenny was in the other room, updating their blades for their final match the next day. Rei found himself staring aimlessly at the white tiled ceiling with one hand behind his head while the other absent-mindedly played with Kai's bit around his neck.  
  
A knock at the door grabbed his attention and Rei looked over to the door to see Mr. Dickenson walk into the room with a slightly troubled look on his face. Rei didn't much care and returned his gaze to the ceiling.  
  
"The Demolition Boys have made it to the finals." He told them. Rei made no move to suggest he had heard what Mr. Dickenson had said, even though he knew the old man's eyes were on him. "I have a video to show you. Their win was very odd. Kai's attention seemed to be anywhere but on the battle." He popped the video into the VCR and called Kenny to come to watch it, too.  
  
Rei sat up and looked at the screen, vaguely interested in what Mr. Dickenson meant. The tape was set at the precise moment that Kai stepped up to battle. They watched as he launched his blade and his focus disappear just as fast as his blade left its launcher. His eyes glazed over and he wasn't even watching the dish. His opponent hadn't noticed Kai's lack of interest and left open plenty of opportunities for Kai to attack and win easily, but Kai didn't seem to notice them at all. It was only when Black Dranzer began to wobble and the dark bird gave out a shrill cry, that Kai was shaken from his reverie and brought back to the battle. They won quickly after that and Mr. Dickenson stopped the tape.  
  
"He wasn't hurt or anything, just distracted." Takao pointed out. "I wonder what it was that he was thinking about."  
  
"Well, what ever it was, it was very obvious and I'm sure the Demolition Boys noticed it." Kenny exclaimed solemnly. "They're probably going to do something about it." Rei lay back down on the bed, his brow knotted with worry. He hoped they didn't hurt him again, like they had the last time.  
  
"I just came up here because I thought you'd like to see what you're opponents did in their latest round." Mr. Dickenson looked back to Rei, disappointed that he had withdrawn back into his shell again. "I got this copy from a good friend of mine." He winked mysteriously at the rest of the team and went to the door. He turned back for a second, a thought just crossing his mind.  
  
"You should practice." He said absently before leaving the room.  
  
"Why don't we wait for tomorrow." Takao said lazily. Now would have been the time for Kai to argue but all the team got was dead air. Max hung his head and shrugged and Kenny looked to Rei.  
  
"Sure, whatever." Rei said, not even giving his words a second thought. Kenny sighed and nodded to Takao his agreement. Without Kai around, there was no one to argue with Takao about procrastination.  
  
"I'm gonna go back to work." Kenny exclaimed softly and walked back to the dimly lit room he had been working in before the distraction. He flicked on the light switch and got back to work.  
  
"Do you want to go out, Max?" Takao asked. Max shrugged.  
  
"Sure." He said. "How about you, Rei?" Max asked, turning to the blader crashed out on the bed.  
  
"No thanks, guys." He replied. "I'll hang out with Kenny."  
  
"Ok, buddy." Takao answered, and led Max out the door, probably to head to the nearest buffet table.  
  
***  
  
"Hey, can I watch?" Rei asked, coming up behind Kenny with a chair.  
  
"Sure, I'd be glad to have a bit of company." Kenny replied, earning a snort from his laptop. "That's not to say you aren't company, Dizz." He sweatdropped at his bit-beast's easily offended pride.  
  
Kenny was working on Dragoon first.  
  
"What's going on between you and Kai?" he asked, not taking his full attention from the disassembled blade.  
  
"What do you mean?" Rei replied, wondering if he was really that easy to read.  
  
"Well, you said earlier that you battled against Dranzer, and you and I both know only Kai can control that beast." Kenny pointed out. Rei winced, realising how obvious it really was.  
  
"And your point is?" he asked, opting to remain as stubborn as possible.  
  
"You were battling Kai." Kenny answered bluntly. "How come you didn't tell us who it was?" he looked up from Takao's blade and looked earnestly into Rei's eyes.  
  
"I don't know." Rei responded meekly. Kenny looked back to the blade.  
  
"I know you are more involved with Kai than you let on." Kenny exclaimed. Rei's eyes widened.  
  
"There's nothing going on." He retorted. "We're just friends." Kenny looked at him again and shook his head. If his hair were shorter Rei would have seen the boy roll his eyes.  
  
"But I'm sure you'd like there to be more going on, ne?" he replied, getting to the bottom of Rei's emotions.  
  
"Am I really that easy to read?" Rei asked, incredulously. Kenny smiled, knowing he had gotten through to his friend and returned his main focus to the repair of Takao's Beyblade.  
  
"Well, I only make assumptions from what I observe." He assured him. Rei snorted.  
  
"You're not the first one to make that same observation."  
  
"Really?" Kenny wondered.  
  
"Yeah, Mr. Dickenson also talked to me about it." Kenny looked back to Rei to try to read the emotions on his face. Being on the sidelines a lot helped him develop that skill. But Rei's face was facing the floor and his hair covered up what Kenny would have been able to see of his face.  
  
"What exactly is it you feel for Kai?" he asked, drawing Rei's face back up to his.  
  
"Um, well- you see..." he began to stammer, trying to find the right words for what he felt. Kenny did it for him.  
  
"Are you in love with him?" he asked, frankly, saving Rei the trouble of saying it himself.  
  
"Hn." Rei replied. Kenny burst out laughing, shocking Rei. He would have thought the younger boy would have been a little more sensitive.  
  
"That's a typical Kai response." Kenny explained when he caught his breath again. Rei snickered a little realising just how much like Kai his reply did sound.  
  
"Does he know how you feel?" Kenny asked, regaining the seriousness of the conversation. Rei was abashed by the suggestion.  
  
"Hell no!" he exclaimed loudly. "I could never tell him." Kenny shrugged and turned back to his workshop.  
  
"And why not?"  
  
"Because I don't want to fuck up our friendship." He exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kenny was silent for a few minutes and Rei thought that was the end of the conversation.  
  
"A friendship he doesn't have with anyone else." Kenny pointed out. "I'm sure he's told you things he wouldn't normally tell anyone." Rei realised that Kenny was right about that.  
  
"Yeah, but-" he tried to explain the opposite but found he was at a loss of words.  
  
"How much emotion has he shown around you? How far has he let you get through his barriers?" Kenny pushed Rei into seeing the reality, but Rei was as stubborn as a mule.  
  
"That doesn't prove anything." He huffed, not realising what Kenny was trying to tell him.  
  
"You are closer to him than anyone else has gotten to him. If he doesn't feel slightly the same as you, then you're at least close enough for your friendship to survive any confession you might make." Kenny explained.  
  
"Maybe you're right." Rei bowed his head, soaking in his friend's advice.  
  
"I know I'm right." Kenny replied, smiling cheerfully. Rei grinned, too.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Chief." He exclaimed. Kenny put Takao's blade back together and put it off to one side.  
  
"Can you pass me Max's blade?" he asked Rei, pointing to the blade beside Rei.  
  
"Sure." He picked up the blade and handed it to Kenny.  
  
"Thanks." Kenny took the blade and began to search for something else. "He spotted an attack ring where Draciel was and pointed to it. "Can you pass me that, too?"  
  
"Sure." Rei repeated and gave him the enhanced part.  
  
"How come you have Dranzer?" Kenny asked, taking Draciel apart.  
  
"Huh?" Rei didn't know what Kenny meant. The blade had been left behind when Kai went to blade for the Demolition Boys.  
  
"When you were in the hospital, the doctor told us you refused to part with it." Kenny explained, not taking his eyes off the blade he was working on. "Did Kai really give it to you?"  
  
"Yeah, he told me to keep it safe for him." Rei explained. "He wanted at least one bit-beast to elude the Demolition Boys' hands."  
  
"Oh." Kenny exclaimed. It didn't explain why Rei was so attached to it.  
  
"He said it would be something to remind me of him." Rei added, seeing Kenny's sceptical look. Kenny began to laugh.  
  
"Kai?" He asked. "A sap? I'll believe it when I see it." Rei chuckled, too.  
  
"Oh, shut up." Rei slapped Kenny playfully on the shoulder. "When he said it, it wasn't cheesy." He tried defending Kai.  
  
"I'm so sure that's the way you heard it." Kenny continued to laugh.  
  
"Whatever." Rei rolled his eyes. "You're starting to sound like Takao. Is there something I should know about?" that halted Kenny's laughs.  
  
"No! Ew! Not Takao. I've just been around him too long. Besides, I'm not interested in anyone right now." Rei chuckled at Kenny's defence. "Plus we all know he has a thing for Max. It's more obvious than you're affections."  
  
"Oh, yeah." Rei agreed and stood up. He decided to let Kenny get back to work on their blades and crash out on the bed again.  
  
***  
  
Half an hour later, Takao and Max came roaring back into the hotel room, obviously sugar high. Takao jumped onto his bed and tried to explain what they had just seen, when Kenny came back into the room.  
  
Rei looked up at the boy and smiled.  
  
"Takao you sound just like Max." He commented, causing both him and Kenny to crack up. Takao stopped for a moment and looked at them strangely. To him it seemed that their hyperness had rubbed off on the other two.  
  
"I just came through to see what the commotion was about." Kenny explained when he caught his breath. "I'm gonna go back, I don't think Dizzy scanned the rooms recently for bugs." With that he left Takao and Max to begin their wild explanations again.  
  
***  
  
"Come in, boy." A gruff voice called to the closed door. Tala stepped forward into the darkened room and walked up to the large desk.  
  
"Here's the latest tape that you asked for." Voltaire exclaimed, handing him a small cassette.  
  
"Thank you very much, sir." Tala bowed. "I'm sure I can find the thing I need on one of these tapes."  
  
"It's no problem for such a loyal boy as yourself." Hiwatari-sama smiled proudly. "I hope you can find some useful information that I've overlooked. I haven't even heard this one." Tala bowed once more. He was extremely grateful at Voltaire's eagerness to help him.  
  
"Thank you, again, sir." He professed. "I'm sure one of these holds the information I'm looking for." He smirked and walked out of the room, leaving Voltaire to look on him proudly as the grandson he never had.  
  
He walked back to his room and found a cassette player on his desk. He popped in the latest tape and played it.  
  
"What exactly is it you feel for Kai?"  
  
"Um, well- you see..."  
  
"Are you in love with him?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
Tala's smirk grew to an evil grin.  
  
"Bingo." He whispered to himself. He had found exactly what he was looking for. 'I've finally found the proof I need that will help us destroy the Bladebreakers.' He thought and began to laugh, maniacally.  
  
~Finis  
  
Hee hee... I wonder what he's going to do. Well, I don't because I already know, but I'm sure you all do. Did you know that the next chapter is the last? Yup. So, that means I have to include some form of punishment for Hiwatari-sama, reveal Tala's plot, have the entire finals, introduce Rei's parents (then find a way to get rid of them), and come up with the perfect ending. *Sigh* The work of an author... it's a good thing I already have the entire chapter in jot notes in a notebook right here in front of me.  
  
Chapter 9: Love and Friendship  
  
Teaser! (Because I'm a cruel person):  
  
"I know why this hurts you so much Rei." He cackled and pulled a cassette player from his pocket. "Cause I know just exactly how you feel for Kai." He laughed again. Turning up the volume so everyone could hear it, he pushed play.  
  
"What exactly is it you feel for Kai?"  
  
"Um, well- you see..."  
  
"Are you in love with him?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"That's a typical Kai response... Does he know how you feel?"  
  
"Hell no! I could never tell him."  
  
Tala stopped the tape, seeing Rei's eyes widen in shock and surprise. Rei felt like he was the one receiving each blow instead of Kai. He began to wobble on his feet, much like his blade and his gaze faltered to the ground.  
  
***  
  
Tala couldn't speak, and even when he tried, all he got was a squeak. His master plan to force Rei to give up had back-fired severely into his own. He looked up from the dish to Rei and his eyes widened even more. Though the blast didn't affect him in any way, something was obviously wrong with Rei...  
  
uiDun dun dun...... lol the only reason this is in italics and underlined (if it works) is to check to make sure that FF.N can show it cause the next chapter needs to have something both italicised and underlined. /i/u  
  
Please review! Or you can e-mail me your review (firebird_dranzer@hotmail.com) and tell me what you think. You can also add me to your MSN if you have it. I love chattin to ppl from FF.N!!! 


	9. Love and Friendship

Another Word for Strength  
  
Chapter 9: Love and Friendship  
  
Friday morning Rei woke up and noticed most of his wounds had healed. The minor bruises were gone and those that were still there were small things. Just as he pushed back his covers Takao bounded in, as hyper as the night before. Rei had to do a double take and rub his eyes. He had never seen Takao up this early.  
  
"Come on, Rei!" He cried, pulling him out of bed and pushing him towards the bathroom. "Hurry up! We've got to get ready soon. We're heading to the Beystadium early so you have to get dressed."  
  
"Ok, Takao." Rei smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. He watched as Takao bounded back out the door and head to breakfast. Rei pulled on his clothes and went to the bathroom to splash his face with water a couple of times. 'This is going to be the most important day of my life.' He told himself, staring at himself in the mirror as beads of water trickled down his face. He almost didn't want to leave the hotel room. He sighed and walked out of the bathroom and headed for the door. Checking that he had everything he needed: Dranzer and Drigger, he left the room and headed to the buffet breakfast where he assumed Takao was eating like there was no tomorrow.  
  
Once Takao had stopped eating (with a good reminder of the last time he ate too much) they walked slowly to the stadium to get ready for their match. They came to a halt at the front desk where a BBA official met up with them.  
  
"Hello, boys." He greeted them. "Are you ready for your last match?"  
  
"Yeah!" Takao cheered and pumped a fist into the air enthusiastically.  
  
"So, who are we facing in this match?" Kenny asked.  
  
"You will be facing Bryan, Spencer and Tala." He told them, looking over his checklist.  
  
"What about Kai?" Max asked. "Why isn't he blading?"  
  
"I'm not sure." The man looked at them with a perplexed look on his face. "It was really weird. They came in ten minutes ago and took him off the list. That Tala boy told me that they had other plans for him." He shook his head.  
  
"I don't have a good feeling about this." Rei said quietly. The official offered them his best assuring smile.  
  
"Thanks a lot." Kenny smiled back and they went to their locker room. They waited patiently for a few minutes while the announcer and the stadium executives completed getting the arena ready for their final match. Takao, who couldn't sit still, began to pace back and forth, holding his Beyblade behind his back, and Max sat on a bench staring at his pacing feet. Rei leaned up against a locker in the corner near the door with his head down and eyes closed, much like Kai would have done, had he been with them at that moment. Kenny, however, was sitting beside Max in his own little world doing who-knows-what with his little laptop.  
  
"You'll wear a hole in the tiles." Rei said calmly, not bothering to look up and crossing his arms on his chest. Takao looked up at Rei for a second then returned his gaze to his feet.  
  
"You can't tell me you're not nervous about being in the finals." He shot back.  
  
"Oh, but I'm not." Rei replied, smooth as silk. He actually wasn't nervous at all. It was after the match he was worried about. There was too many things to do, too little time to do it all in. Takao snorted, but didn't say anything more. Ten minutes later the call came to have all team members enter the arena for the starting of the match.  
  
The Bladebreakers walked through the door and entered the stadium to the sound of thunderous applause. They were the favourite to win even though the Russian team had the home advantage.  
  
Rei looked across the stadium and noticed that the Demolition Boys were already seated and Tala was looking particularly smug, whilst Kai was looking as nervous as Takao was. He noticed that Kai kept making worried glances at Tala and that's when he noticed the two guards that sat beside Kai. He furrowed his brows at this and tried to attract Kai's attention, but the other boy refused to look across the arena at any of the Bladebreakers. Rei sat down beside Max and waited for Takao's match to begin. He was facing Spencer, the seemingly easiest of the group.  
  
Takao, it seemed, had the advantage with speed and attack strength, but when Spencer put his hands in his pocket to fiddle with something, he began to loose his edge. The stadium began to rock with the force of an earthquake and Spencer's blade seemed to be able to anticipate each shock and bounce before the shaking could affect it. Takao called on his bit- beast, but not even the mighty Dragoon could handle the quaking and eventually his blade rolled to a stop.  
  
"And the Demolition Boys take the first round!" the announcer cried and everyone was shocked to see Takao's bit-beast sucked up by Tala's blade. The Russian boy just laughed, watching Takao crumble to the stadium floor. The Bladebreakers knew how hard loosing Dragoon would be for him.  
  
Max stepped up to the dish, seeking revenge for his friend, and met with Bryan. The other boy smirked at the blond and readied his launcher. Max followed suit and soon their blades were in the dish.  
  
Draciel immediately went on the offensive, trying to force Bryan's blade out of the dish, but without any warning the other blade began to leak a foul smelling liquid. Max began to panic as Draciel began to melt at the touch of this stuff.  
  
"Kenny, what is it?!" he asked frantically, trying to think of a way to get his blade safely out of this mess. Kenny frantically typed at his computer, trying to find a way out, but was horrified to find out what the stuff was.  
  
"It's acid, Max!" he cried out. "It's a highly corrosive and toxic form that's going to eat right through your blade." He warned Max, but there was nothing anyone could do. Max's blade had already melted far beyond help and sizzled to a melted heap of metal in the dish. The match was over and it seemed that the Demolition Boys had won the championship. Rei only had to play the last round as a formality. Tala again held up his blade and in an instant the turtle bit-beast was gone.  
  
Max crumpled to the floor and Takao rushed out to comfort his friend, knowing exactly what the boy was going through.  
  
"Another tough loss for the Bladebreakers, costing them the finals." The announcer's voice sounded. "Let's see if Rei can save face by claiming the final round victory." Tala and Rei stepped up to the new dish that had been brought out, since the previous one had been partially melted.  
  
"Rei!" Tala called out when both bladers stepped up to the dish. Rei looked up at him and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Kai was looking even more frantic than before. "How about we bet everything on this match?" Tala asked.  
  
"What do you mean?" Rei didn't understand what Tala meant.  
  
"I mean," he started, nodding to the guards at Kai's side. "If you win, I'll forfeit the championship to you, and free every single bit-beast the Demolition Boys have ever stolen." He offered. It sounded like a good deal to Rei, but he knew there had to be a catch.  
  
"And if I lose?" Rei asked.  
  
"You lose everything." Tala exclaimed, waving a hand. The guards stood up and dragged Kai towards the dish. Kai struggled for a moment, but stopped realising he wasn't strong enough to fight the burly men. "You lose your love, your bit-beast, your life."  
  
"My life?"  
  
"Aa. If you lose, you will return with us to the abbey, and never leave."  
  
"That's not a fair trade!" Kenny cried, listening to Tala's offer. In fact, everyone in the stadium had heard his deal.  
  
"Oh, but it is." Tala argued. "You'd give up everything for your friends, to save their bit-beasts, to save the world from Biovolt unleashing its bit- beasts on the world." Rei thought about his proposal. "I'm making you the deal you can't refuse. Wouldn't you give up your freedom so that your loved ones were safe?" Tala asked, nodding to the guards who immediately began to barrage Kai with fists and kicks.  
  
"Kai!" Rei cried out. "No, let him go!"  
  
"Kai did."  
  
"Kai did what?" Rei asked, looking back to Tala.  
  
"He gave up his freedom so that the boy he loved would be safe." With another nod, the men stopped hitting Kai. He fell to the floor in a limp pile. "I'm making you the same offer Kai was given. It's an offer you can't afford to say no to." Rei let out a sob, realising that he had no other way out.  
  
"Fine." He whispered, loud enough for Tala to hear. "If I win, every bit- beast is returned, and I win the championships. If I lose, then I'll go back with you, but only if Kai is released from the abbey."  
  
"Deal." Tala smirked and readied his launcher. Rei held up his blade and closed his eyes. 'I have never needed a win more, Drigger. Please, do your best.' He thought to the tiger.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One. Let it RIP!"  
  
Both blades erupted from their launchers with amazing speed and began their attack almost immediately. Sparks began to fly everywhere from the metal on metal and from out of no where Kai was sent another few punches, knocking Rei out of his concentration.  
  
"Stop it!" he yelled at the guards, losing focus on the battle for a moment, allowing Tala to gain the upper hand. "Leave him alone!"  
  
"Shouldn't you do something about this?!" Kenny called up to the referee but the ref just shrugged and shook his head.  
  
"I'm afraid we can't do a thing about how teams treat, handle and otherwise train their members. If they were doing it to one of you, we could intervene, but for now we can only let the law handle it outside of the stadium."  
  
"But what if he's killed?" Takao yelled defiantly back.  
  
"I'm really sorry, but it's not our problem." The man shrugged again and returned his attention to the match. Tala was laughing, head tilted back, hands clutching his sides, laughing.  
  
"I know why this hurts you so much Rei." He cackled and pulled a cassette player from his pocket. "Cause I know just exactly how you feel for Kai." He laughed again. Turning up the volume so everyone could hear it, he pushed play.  
  
"What exactly is it you feel for Kai?"  
  
"Um, well- you see..."  
  
"Are you in love with him?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"That's a typical Kai response... Does he know how you feel?"  
  
"Hell no! I could never tell him."  
  
Tala stopped the tape, seeing Rei's eyes widen in shock and surprise. Rei felt like he was the one receiving each blow instead of Kai. He began to wobble on his feet, much like his blade and his gaze faltered to the ground.  
  
"And you know what the best part is?" Tala sneered, causing Rei to look up in horror. "He's not going to pass out until the pain stops. The world of medicine is wonderful these days. The things they can create. I knew it wouldn't be long before they came up with an anti-sleeping pill. Kai's been gracious to be our first test subject." Kai lifted his head and stared in horror at what Tala said. "Yes, that was what was in that glass this morning. Did you really think I was trying to make amends?" he laughed at Kai's foolishness. Kai was hit again.  
  
Rei was being torn up inside. Between listening to Tala and trying to concentrate on the most important battle of his life, he began to lose his mind.  
  
"STOP IT!" he screamed and fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands. He could still see Kai taking punch after punch. Kai looked up at Rei's scream and tried to reassure him everything would be okay. He tried to smile, but his face felt numb. One of the guards saw their exchange and cuffed him in the side of the head making Kai scream out in pain for the first time. This pushed Rei over the edge. He screamed like there was no tomorrow, only this time it was neither pain nor anguish in his eyes. It was pure unadulterated rage.  
  
Hearing his master's call, Drigger was released from his blade and towered over the stadium, three times larger than anyone had ever seen him. Tala looked up at the beast and gasped. The tiger roared, feeling the anger Rei was feeding to him, while Rei began to glow. It wasn't an ethereal glow, the light was radiating from his chest a bright red. With a flash of light, Dranzer emerged from her bit and soared over to Kai, protecting him from anymore blows. Rei had been able to control and summon her from his need to protect Kai. She sent a burst of energy at the two guards that sent them flying backwards, then encased her master in a protective dome to shield him from anymore harm. Kai smiled when he felt her warmth surround him and he struggled to stand up and watch the rest of the match.  
  
Drigger was still standing with his head held high above the crowd. He looked back to his master and then to Tala and began to growl, sending shivers up and down Tala's spine. He stalked back to the dish, his lip curled revealing a set of eerily sharp teeth, then began to gallop towards the inevitable fate that was Tala's blade. Taking a final leap, Drigger jumped straight at the blade, causing the entire dish to explode in a brilliant flash of light and a shower of dust. Before the powder could clear numerous bright lights shot out of the debris, returning to their rightful homes.  
  
"Dragoon!" Takao cheered when his vision followed a bright blue light that disappeared into his blade. Max was speechless as he watched Draciel return to his bit-chip as well. Even the bit-beasts that were taken by Black Dranzer returned to their owners as Dranzer forced her way back into her own blade, kicking Black Dranzer out. With a cry of defeat the black fire bird emerged from his former blade and flew out of the stadium to search for a new home.  
  
When the smoke cleared the only thing that was left was the shattered bit- chip that once was Tala's bit-beast and Rei's Drigger spinning strong. Tala couldn't speak, and even when he tried, all he got was a squeak. He couldn't believe he lost. His master plan to force Rei to give up had back- fired severely into his own face and his ego had cost him the World Championship. He looked up from the dish to Rei and his eyes widened even more. Though the blast didn't affect him in any way, something was obviously wrong with Rei.  
  
Rei was still on his knees, but his hands were no longer covering his face, they stayed by his side. His eyes were half-lidded and his torso began to rock back and forth. Just as his eyes rolled back into his head his head tilted forward, he lost his balance and fell face first to the stadium floor. Luckily Kai was also watching Rei and saw what was about to happen. He jumped forward, escaping Dranzer's protective shield, and caught Rei before he hit the ground.  
  
Seeing Kai leave his shell, and having lost the only thing Tala had left, he ordered the guards to attack Kai again.  
  
"Get him!" he cried, driven by a different kind of rage then Rei had been.  
  
"I don't think there will be anymore attacking by anyone." Mr. Dickenson's voice rang clear over all the commotion. Everybody looked up at the old man curiously.  
  
"Biovolt has been shut down." He explained. "You, young man, are going to youth prison for as long as I can get them to hold you. Boris will be heading to court and Voltaire," he paused looking directly at Kai. "Voltaire is going to a prison where he can never get parole. Alcatraz is lovely at this time of year and I'm sure they have a nice padded room for him. He's being arrested right this moment." Kai gasped.  
  
"How..." he whispered audibly. "What for?"  
  
"He's being held for about a couple dozen charges of child abuse, attempted rape, assault, first degree murder on two counts, your parents I believe, and a few more I can't remember." Mr. Dickenson explained. Everyone was shocked.  
  
"How did you find all this out?" Takao asked.  
  
"Rei did a wonderful thing for you, vowing not to tell the Bladebreakers about your grandfather's abuse, and coming to me instead. I just called in a few favours and dialled a few numbers and found quite a lot of evidence to put them all away for a good many lifetimes." He told Kai. Kai smiled and nodded. "I'm sorry for not keeping the same promise, but you understand that it had to come out if you were ever to be able to be free of that man. Don't blame Rei, he was only doing what he thought was right."  
  
"It's okay." Kai replied, fully understanding just what Rei did for him. "I couldn't be mad at him. He's done more for me than I could ever hope to do for him in return." Mr. Dickenson smiled and nodded up to the stands. They all looked up to see Voltaire being carried away by several police. Kai smiled again and held Rei closer to him. He only then realised the old man was holding Takao, Max and Kenny back from running up to him and Rei. He closed his eyes and nuzzled Rei's neck tightly. He had heard everything from the cassette and vowed himself he'd never leave Rei's side again.  
  
"K-Kai?" Rei whispered hoarsely. He had begun to wake up and started to sob into Kai's shoulder. "I'm so sorry! I tried to win the match, but all the stuff he was saying and those guards were doing-" Kai pulled back and brought a hand to his lips to quiet his unnecessary ramblings.  
  
"You won." Kai whispered back to him. "Voltaire is in jail, as is Boris and Tala. You freed everyone's bit-beasts and won the championship all by yourself."  
  
"I did?" he looked into Kai's eyes to make sure there was no mistake. Kai smiled, had been doing that a lot lately, and nodded.  
  
"Thank you, Rei, for telling Mr. Dickenson about what my grandfather was doing to me." He thanked the Chinese boy and helped him stand. Rei gave a small smile and accepted his help. They hadn't yet noticed that they were gathering an audience. A man and a woman were climbing down the aisles towards their little group.  
  
"Rei, I heard you're 'confession' on the cassette." Kai started, turning to look at Rei again. He was determined to get this out in the open before he lost his chance. Rei winced and looked down to his feet. He was afraid of what Kai was going to say next.  
  
"Oh, you did?" he exclaimed, trying to hide the turmoil of emotions he was going through at the moment.  
  
"Aa, and I want you to know that I feel the same way." Rei opened his eyes and snapped his head towards Kai to check if he was only making fun.  
  
"Y-you do?" he stammered, dumbstruck as Kai leaned closer.  
  
"Aa, I do." He whispered and pressed his lips to Rei's. For a moment Rei stood there with his eyes open, unmoving, until his brain finally kicked in and he realised what was happening. He slowly closed his eyes and pressed back, opening his lips just enough to run his tongue across Kai's lips. Kai opened his lips in response and they began a tongue war. It would have lasted longer had it not been for an unwanted clearing of the throat.  
  
"He has your eyes, Hun." A woman cooed, staring at the new couple. "Though we'll have to find him a more suitable girlfriend." The man beside her nodded in agreement.  
  
"Hai, we can't have this sort of thing going on." He looked Kai up and down in disgust. "I'm sure we can find a nice rich girl for him."  
  
Rei turned to the two people who were bad talking Kai and glared at them.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" he snarled, narrowing his eyes at the couple.  
  
"Your parents, young boy. And if you'll just disentangle your limbs from that, we can be on our way." The woman explained, motioning to Kai with enough disgust to match her husbands. Kai narrowed his eyes as well and stepped in front of Rei.  
  
"Look, I know all about you. Rei's not going with leeches like you." He snorted, throwing the woman a glare that would stop a deer in its tracks.  
  
"Leeches?!" The woman exclaimed, thoroughly offended. "Do you know who you are talking to?"  
  
"Hai." Kai snorted again and crossed his arms stubbornly across his chest. "You're nothing but greedy, back-stabbers who don't give a shit about Rei, only the money he can make you."  
  
"How dare you." The man stood up for his wife and himself. Takao ran forward and grabbed the man's coat.  
  
"If Rei doesn't want to go with you, then he's not going." He looked sternly at the two. He didn't know the exact reason for Rei not wanting to go with these people, but if he didn't want to go, Takao and the other Bladebreakers weren't going to let him. The woman shot him a quick glare for butting his nose in and turned back to her son.  
  
"Oh, Rei darling, how could you do this to your parents?" she whined, giving him a pleading look.  
  
"How could I do this to you?!" Rei screamed. "You abandoned me when I was little. Kai's right. You ditched me when you thought I would use up your money and now that I'm part of the team that won the championships, all you can think about is how much money you might be able to gain from this." He spat at them. They looked to each other, aware that they were losing this argument.  
  
"You heard him, now leave." Kai added, stepping forward. They weren't as angry as before, but now they were worried that their scheme wouldn't work out so well.  
  
"But we're family." Rei's mother pointed out, trying to get some sympathy out of her only child. Rei only looked away.  
  
"I already have a family and you're not part of it." He said. Mr. Dickenson decided this was where he should end it.  
  
"You know, this is being taped and broadcasted by the BBA." He pointed out. "You're already going to have to spend quite a bit to redeem your reputation. Leave before it costs you a lot more." He growled. They looked frantically from face to face but none of them were on the Kons' side.  
  
"Fine. This is more trouble than it's worth." And with that they turned on their heels and left the stadium without a backwards glance.  
  
Rei's smile returned to his face and he looked at everyone.  
  
"Thanks you guys." He exclaimed. "I don't think I could have turned them down without your support." He grinned. Takao cheered and everyone embraced Rei in a group hug.  
  
Everyone, that is, except Kai. When Rei looked at him questioningly, all he got was a withering stare and a snort. Kai would never change. Rei began to laugh and soon he had everyone laughing, including Kai who gave an encouraging chuckle. Nobody expected him to be able to change overnight.  
  
Rei freed himself from everyone's hug and ran over to Kai's open arms. They held each other for a long while before Rei kissed Kai briefly on the lips.  
  
"Thanks to you especially." He smiled. Kai narrowed his eyes at Rei and hissed.  
  
"Don't think that gets you out of trouble. I know how you bent my promise so you could tell Mr. Dickenson." He glared long and hard at him. Rei sweat dropped and tried again. He planted a smouldering kiss on Kai's lips and smirked when he felt Kai move with him. When they parted for air, Kai sighed.  
  
"Ok, so maybe it does get you out of trouble." He whispered. "So long as you keep doing it." He grinned slyly. Rei laughed and pulled Kai towards the locker room, following the rest of their team. Kai was back for good. With Rei and with the Bladebreakers.  
  
Two days later, while on the plane back to Japan, Rei rolled over in his seat and faced Kai who had his chair leaning all the way back so he could stare at the ceiling. He didn't bother to turn, he knew Rei was awake.  
  
"What?" he asked after getting fed up with having Rei stare at him for a while.  
  
"You're very strong." Rei announced. "Did you know that?" Kai turned to look at Rei and gave him a funny look.  
  
"No, you've seen me at my weakest. How could you say that that person is strong?"  
  
"That's the precise reason that you are strong." Rei retorted. "You let me see you when you weren't strong at all. Allowing yourself to get over your pride is true strength." Rei grinned. "So is love and friendship." Kai nodded and smiled.  
  
"And now that I have both, I'm the strongest man alive? Is that right?" he asked.  
  
"Pretty much." Rei replied.  
  
"And you're going to take responsibility for it all, ne?" he continued.  
  
"Pretty much." Rei grinned. Kai turned to look at him and gave him a genuinely happy smile. He leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.  
  
"And you know you're so full of shit, ne?"  
  
"Pretty much."  
  
Owari  
  
[EDIT] Like the edit on Immortal Blood, this story will not have a sequel. Maybe in the future someone will return me to it, but as of now Beyblade doesn't even make the top twenty list of my favourites. 


End file.
